Boy injured on Deer Island dies at BMC

Police are investigating the death of a 13-year-old boy who had suffered a serious head injury. About 1:30 p.m. yesterday, Boston police rushed the boy by boat from Deer Island to a pier on Drydock Avenue in South Boston, then by ambulance to Boston Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, said Officer Eddy Chrispin, a department spokesman. Police withheld the teen's name. Fox 25 news reported that the boy was killed in a fall from a boat.

An employee at the Comedy Connection at Faneuil Hall was pistol-whipped and robbed early yesterday while putting away the night's earnings, said police spokesman Eddy Chrispin. The suspect, described as a male wearing a mask with purple trim, took out a silver firearm with a white handle and told the victim to put the money in a bag, police said. The suspect hit the employee with the gun before fleeing, police said.

A helicopter that crash-landed in the water Saturday near Martha's Vineyard probably had engine problems but did not suffer engine failure, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson said yesterday. FAA investigators moved the helicopter onto a barge yesterday to be taken to an airport on Martha's Vineyard. "We're just trying to determine what degree and what happened with the engine," said FAA spokeswoman Holly Baker. Four people and two dogs on board were headed from Norwood to Martha's Vineyard. They were rescued by pleasure boaters about 2:15 p.m. Saturday before two Coast Guard boats arrived, said Coast Guard spokeswoman Etta Smith. Thomas O'Connell, 58, of Quincy was the pilot and owner of the helicopter, Smith said. The other passengers, William O'Connell of Quincy and Michelle Mussaw, 21, and Melanie Smith, 23, of Nashua, "all appeared to be fine," said State Police Sergeant Timothy Finn. Baker said the FAA investigation could last weeks. Thomas O'Connell could not be reached yesterday.

One person was dead and another was in critical condition after their speeding car hit a utility pole in Tewksbury yesterday about 10:15 a.m., police said. Tewksbury police Sergeant John Barry said the male driver was seriously injured and taken to the Lahey Clinic in Burlington. His female passenger died at the scene. Barry said the car was speeding down North Street when the driver lost control and hit a pole alongside the roadway. Police did not release the names or ages of the victims pending family notification.

The big jump in heating oil prices is fueling a boom in sales of wood pellet stoves, with some Maine dealers saying demand is so great that they can't keep them in stock. Marty Farnum of Northern Lights Hearth Sports in Farmington said he's just about sold out and has 150 more pellet stoves on order. Northern Lights has already sold 100 of the stoves this year. Also in high demand are wood pellets, which are often sold in one-ton pallets of 40-pound bags. Shop owners say households switching from heating oil could find that a $3,000 stove, plus the cost of pellets, would pay for itself in a year or two. (AP)

Rhode Island lawmakers have endorsed the first major changes to the state's open records law, including hastening their release and specifying the information from arrest records police must make public. Lawmakers approved the changes Saturday. They would take effect Sept. 1, if accepted by Governor Don Carcieri. The proposed law would decrease the time that public agencies have to respond to requests for public records, from 10 days to seven. It would bar state agencies from requiring those seeking the information to provide personally identifiable details or stating the reason for their request. The bill lists the basic information that police must release about arrests within 24 hours. It also orders that police release narratives of arrest reports within seven days. (AP)