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Zak Failla

Assistant Managing Editor

zfailla@dailyvoice.com

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Equal parts Lois Lane, J. Jonah Jameson and Vicki Vale, Zak! has traveled from coast-to-coast covering small and big town community news in both in print and online for nearly a decade since his graduation from the award-winning Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College in 2010.

Before settling into the Hudson Valley, Zak! previously spent time in the New York Daily News newsroom and worked for hyperlocal digital news outlets on Long Island. He wrote sports for The Ithacan and The Ithaca Journal before taking his talents to the Pacific Northwest, where he served as the sports editor at the Shoshone News-Press until heading back east to work with Daily Voice.

Zak Failla's Contributions

Police & Fire
DUI Driver Hospitalized After Hitting Child On Scooter In Leesburg, Police Say DUI Driver Hospitalized After Hitting Child On Scooter In Leesburg, Police Say
DUI Driver Hospitalized After Hitting Child On Scooter In Leesburg, Police Say A Virginia man is accused of driving drunk and hitting a child on a scooter before being rushed to the hospital himself, police said. Victor Canchola, 63, was arrested after the crash, which happened around 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 15, near 22 Plaza Street NE in Leesburg, according to the Leesburg Police Department. An officer nearby saw the juvenile fall in the roadway and stopped to help. Witnesses told the officer the child had just been hit by a car, police said. The child, who suffered minor injuries, was taken by ambulance to a local hospital for treatment, according to police. Ca…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Overnight Townhouse Fire In Maryland Displaces 13 People, Pets, Officials Say Overnight Townhouse Fire In Maryland Displaces 13 People, Pets, Officials Say
Overnight Townhouse Fire In Maryland Displaces 13 People, Pets, Officials Say A fast-moving fire tore through a row of townhomes in Montgomery County early Friday, May 16, displacing 13 people and several pets in Gaithersburg, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue. Firefighters rushed to the 11900 block of Roan Lane just after 5:30 a.m. following multiple reports of a fire burning behind a three-story townhouse, officials said. Crews arrived to find flames spreading to two neighboring homes, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue PIO David Pazos said. Firefighters worked quickly to knock down the fire, and all occupants were able to escape safely. No injuries we…

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by Zak Failla
News
Feds: Oxygen Loss, Skipped Repairs Contributed to Virginia Jet Crash That Killed Four Feds: Oxygen Loss, Skipped Repairs Contributed to Virginia Jet Crash That Killed Four
Feds: Oxygen Loss, Skipped Repairs Contributed to Virginia Jet Crash That Killed Four A small jet carrying four people on a personal flight from Tennessee to New York flew on autopilot for nearly two hours after the pilot became unresponsive—before crashing into a Virginia mountainside at full speed, killing everyone on board, federal investigators confirmed. The Cessna Citation 560 took off from Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Tennessee around 1:13 p.m. on Sunday, June 4, 2023, according to a final report released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) this week. On board was 69-year-old pilot John K. Rumpel, a Florida businessman and licensed airline transpor…

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by Zak Failla
News
Convicted MS-13 Gang Member Slipped Through Cracks Four Times Before Arrest In Maryland: ICE Convicted MS-13 Gang Member Slipped Through Cracks Four Times Before Arrest In Maryland: ICE
Convicted MS-13 Gang Member Slipped Through Cracks Four Times Before Arrest In Maryland: ICE A convicted MS-13 gang member who kept slipping through the cracks in Maryland is finally in ICE custody—again. Nelson Vladimir Amaya-Benitez, a 26-year-old Salvadoran national who had already been deported once, was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Gaithersburg, the agency announced. Amaya-Benitez, a “validated MS-13 gang member,” has a long criminal record that includes convictions for armed robbery, vehicle theft, drug possession, and more, ICE officials said. He had already been removed from the US in 2019 but illegally reentered the country at an unkn…

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by Zak Failla
News
Audit Finds Dozens Of Maryland In-Custody Deaths Wrongly Ruled Non-Homicides: AG Audit Finds Dozens Of Maryland In-Custody Deaths Wrongly Ruled Non-Homicides: AG
Audit Finds Dozens Of Maryland In-Custody Deaths Wrongly Ruled Non-Homicides: AG The results of an independent audit into Maryland’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) reveal that dozens of deaths in state custody may have been wrongly classified for years, according to Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown. The 70-page report, released Thursday, May 15, details the findings of a multi-year investigation launched in 2021 following concerns raised after Maryland’s former Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. David Fowler, testified in the murder trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin. According to the Office of the Attorney General, more than half of t…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Maryland Escapee Caught After Cutting Off Ankle Monitor, Barricading In Home: Sheriff Maryland Escapee Caught After Cutting Off Ankle Monitor, Barricading In Home: Sheriff
Maryland Escapee Caught After Cutting Off Ankle Monitor, Barricading In Home: Sheriff A wanted Maryland man who slipped off his ankle monitor and went on the run is back behind bars after a tense barricade situation in Lexington Park, authorities announced. Jeffrey Keith Reid, 57, was arrested Thursday, May 15, after deputies with the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office surrounded a home on Spring Lake Drive, officials said. The drama began around 10 a.m. when a witness reported a suspicious vehicle parked at a home where no one was believed to live, according to police. Deputies quickly connected the house to Reid, who was wanted on an active arrest warrant for second-degre…

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by Zak Failla
Lifestyle
Boy, 5, Awake, Begins Tough Recovery After Devastating Lawn Mower Accident In Maryland Boy, 5, Awake, Begins Tough Recovery After Devastating Lawn Mower Accident In Maryland
Boy, 5, Awake, Begins Tough Recovery After Devastating Lawn Mower Accident In Maryland He’s awake. He’s fighting. He’s still here. Five-year-old Gibson Rivera Theimer, the Maryland boy critically injured in a devastating lawn mower accident, is facing a long road to recovery — but his family says he’s showing incredible strength as he begins the battle of his life. On Saturday, May 10, Theimer suffered life-altering trauma after a lawn mower accident at home.  Gibson Rivera Theimer GoFundMe He was flown by helicopter to a trauma center, where doctors were able to save his life. Early reports mentioned only the loss of his right foot, but his loved ones have …

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by Zak Failla
News
Dog Alerts Owner, Helps Rescue Missing 4-Year-Old Lost In Woods Dog Alerts Owner, Helps Rescue Missing 4-Year-Old Lost In Woods
Dog Alerts Owner, Helps Rescue Missing 4-Year-Old Lost In Woods A Virginia man and his dog are being hailed as heroes after helping deputies find a missing 4-year-old boy who wandered deep into the woods while his father was loading the car, officials announced. The tense situation unfolded on Thursday, May 16, in a rural part of Fauquier County, when a panicked father called 911 to report that his young son had disappeared into the trees. Deputies rushed to the area and immediately set up a perimeter, called in K9s, and requested helicopter support as they began the desperate search. But help came from an unexpected place. Local resident Steve Elmore…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Maryland Harley Crash Kills Rider, Leaves Passenger Critical: ‘He Lived Life To The Fullest’ Maryland Harley Crash Kills Rider, Leaves Passenger Critical: ‘He Lived Life To The Fullest’
Maryland Harley Crash Kills Rider, Leaves Passenger Critical: ‘He Lived Life To The Fullest’ A sunny spring ride on a Harley ended in tragedy in Maryland, leaving one rider dead and his passenger fighting for her life, according to state police and loved ones. Two Cecil County families are grieving and bracing for what comes next after a beloved motorcycle rider was killed and his passenger critically injured in a crash earlier this week. Velmer “Toot” Huff Jr., 63, of Elkton, died on Monday, May 12, after he and Tara Hammond, 43, of North East, were hit while riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle in Elkton, Maryland, according to Maryland State Police. The crash happened just aft…

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by Zak Failla
News
Two Found Dead In Vehicles Miles Apart, Hours Apart In Prince William County, Police Say Two Found Dead In Vehicles Miles Apart, Hours Apart In Prince William County, Police Say
Two Found Dead In Vehicles Miles Apart, Hours Apart In Prince William County, Police Say Two calls, two deaths, one county—police in Virginia are investigating after two people were found dead in separate vehicles just hours apart in Prince William County. The first discovery was made around 1:25 p.m. on Wednesday, May 14, in the parking lot of a business on Richmond Highway in Dumfries. Officers from the Prince William County Police Department say a 33-year-old woman was found unresponsive inside a van, and she was pronounced dead on the scene. Just a few hours later, around 5:15 p.m., police were called again—this time to a neighborhood on Lynn Street in Woodbridge. That’s …

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by Zak Failla
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