DiChiara open letter, bus crash, breastfeeding among 2016 top online stories

Nearly 50,000,000 visitors. That’s how many people read the Ledger-Enquirer through digital platforms this year. And we have you, our readers, to thank for it.

We have learned this year that our readers — especially the ones who come to us through social media — love a variety of topics. Everything from an open letter to the Alabama governor to breastfeeding in a grocery store to new restaurants opening, you’ve read it.

If you don’t already, we encourage you to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. We post all of our daily stories there and welcome feedback and discussions about what’s going on in our community.

Drumroll please — here are our most-read online stories of 2016:

1. DiChiara to Alabama governor leaders: Have you all lost your damn minds?

With more than 600 shares and 300 likes on Facebook combined and nearly 75,000 page views, Larry DiChiara’s open letter on Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley comments about the state’s education system took first place for this year’s top story.

The letter followed Bentley’s remarks while speaking at a conference for the Alabama Association of Regional Councils that “our education system in this state sucks.” That statement made the rounds on Facebook before DiChiara posted his open letter.

DiChiara, the former superintendent for Phenix City Schools, wrote, “Have you all lost your damn minds? Do you even have a clue? Are you blind? Are you stupid? Do you even care about how your words impact our educators in this state…and ultimately the kids?”

Readers were quick to back DiChiara, praising him for not holding back on his feelings.

Related: DiChiara’s condemnation of Ala. governor’s ‘sucks’ comment hits nerve

2. Coroner: Man related to triple homicide victims dies after hearing news

A man related to the triple homicide victims died of a heart attack after learning about the deaths.

Gloria Jean Short, 56, her son, Caleb Robert Short Jr., 17, and her granddaughter, Gianna Lindsey, 10, were found brutally beaten to death in their Bentley Drive home.

Robert Averett, 68, went into cardiac arrest days after learning the news.

Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan said Averett of Columbus had an “extensive medical history of cardiac issues” and was possibly overcome with an unbearable amount of stress after receiving the tragic news.

Related: Shameika Averett: Roller coaster emotions after family members murdered

3. Student has leg amputated, family plans to sue MCSD

Montravious Thomas, 13, had his leg amputated following an alleged body-slamming incident at the Edgewood Student Services Center on Sept. 12 by behavioral specialist Bryant Mosley.

According to a police report, Mosley told Columbus Police Lt. Consuelo Askew that he “had to physically restrain” the student “due to behavioral issues.”

Valerie Fuller, director of communications for the Muscogee County School District, said the school made “multiple attempts” to contact the teen’s parent by phone after the incident.

She also said “witnesses indicate that the child was up and walking and not in distress following the administered restraint.” However, a leaked video later showed Thomas being carried for a period from the classroom and then set on his feet once outside.

Attorneys for the Thomas family said they plan to file a lawsuit against Mosley and the Mentoring and Behavior Services clinic, but the amount they will seek is unclear.

Related: Teen released from hospital after leg amputation: ‘His normal smile is back’

4. Columbus police officer shoots, kills suspect after car chase

Christian Redwine, 17, was shot and killed by a Columbus police officer after a car chase on Nov. 6 that started in Columbus and ended in Phenix City. Two passengers, Hunter M. Tillis, 19, and Hannah Wuenschel, 18, were in the stolen vehicle and also injured by gunfire in the incident.

The vehicle had been reported stolen by Redwine’s grandmother and legal guardian, Nancy Sorrells, early that morning. She told the Ledger-Enquirer that her housemate, Freddy Levins, woke up around 3:30 a.m. Sunday to find a car stolen from in front of their home and reported it to police.

Shortly before 4:25 a.m, members of the Columbus Police Department’s Bureau of Patrol Services observed a suspicious vehicle around businesses near the intersection of Milgen Road and Reese Road. The vehicle was driving in and around several closed businesses, and officers later discovered it had been reported stolen.

Attempts made by the officers to stop the vehicle using blue lights and sirens were ignored by the driver who then attempted to flee, authorities said. Police said the vehicle pursuit went into Phenix City where the driver turned onto Riverchase Drive off Highway 80 at which time the driver lost control of the vehicle.

The officer, Allan Brown, 27, told investigators he believed that the car was being used as a weapon, and fired his weapon into the vehicle, killing Redwine and injuring the other teens.

The shooting is currently under investigation by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Brown is on administrative leave with pay.

Related: Coroner: Report on how many times Redwine was shot by officer to take months

5. Muscogee County school bus crash

Seven Mathews Elementary School students were hospitalized and a Muscogee County School District bus driver died after a crash on Garrett Road on Aug. 22.

Roy Newman, 67 and driver since March 2014, was pronounced dead at Midtown Medical Center of blunt-force trauma to the head, torso and extremities. One child was airlifted to another hospital, two remained in the same hospital for treatment and the other four were treated and released on the same day.

The bus left the roadway for an unknown reason and crashed head-on into a tree at 7:44 a.m., said Columbus Fire Marshal Ricky Shores. According to the police report, Newman’s vision wasn’t obscured and the vehicle didn’t have any known defects when he lost control of the bus along a straight and level section of two-lane Garrett Road. The weather was clear, the road was dry, and the bus didn’t collide with another vehicle, the report says.

Authorities are still investigating the incident, said Nelly Miles, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Office of Public Affairs. The bureau was asked to investigate the incident by the district attorney’s office but declined, citing the ongoing investigation.

Related: Eyewitnesses: Muscogee County school bus erratic, dangerous before fatal crash

6. Peachtree Mall shootings and incidents

Anthony Meredith, 24, was shopping for Easter clothes for his 3-year-old daughter when he was shot to death in late March.

During an April 20 Columbus Recorder’s Court hearing, investigators said Meredith’s homicide may have been vengeance for the 2015 deadly shooting of Christopher Twitty at his Wickam Drive home. Twitty was a member of the Crips and brought Xzavaien Trevon Jones, 18, into the group. Jones is one of three suspects in the Meredith shooting.

The other two suspects, Terell McFarland, 25, and Tekoa Chantrell Young, 23, are also allegedly involved with the Crips street gang.

The shooting was the third report of gunfire at the shopping mall in a little more than a month.

A 16-year-old girl was shot in the back on March 4 in an apparent dispute. Police also investigated an apparent gunshot fired into the floor a week before. Police believe a gun discharged in the pocket of a shopper.

While residents voiced concern about the safety of shopping at Peachtree Mall, police records and crime statistics revealed that Peachtree had less crime than other local shopping centers in 2015.

Accounting for 89 percent of the crime was larceny, which includes auto theft, theft by taking, theft by shoplifting and theft of lost or mislaid property. And 44 percent of those were at Columbus Park Crossing, located at 5550 Whittlesey Blvd.

Related: Peachtree Mall shooting witness describes the scene; Is Peachtree Mall really that dangerous?

7. Sheriff Darr addresses breastfeeding incident at Piggly Wiggly

The story began with a Facebook post and photo showing a mother, Savannah Shukla, at the Piggly Wiggly on 13th Street. In the photo, Shukla was talking to a security officer, later identified as Raymond Zipata, a Muscogee County dheriff’s deputy.

Shukla told police in a statement that Zipata told her to cover up while she was breastfeeding her child because other visitors found it “offensive.” Shukla said she told the officer that she was within her legal rights under Georgia law.

According to her account of the incident, Zipata pointed out that he could see her areola and said he really didn’t want her to get arrested for exposing her nipple.

Sheriff John T. Darr apologized to the mother on Facebook and met with her to get her full statement of the incident.

The comments on our Facebook page ranged from everything to “Poor planning, mama!” to “The officer should be fired” to “No one wants to see that — do it in private!!!”

Related: Here’s the full statement on the breastfeeding incident

8. Benning soldier dies after falling ill on first day of Ranger School

Michael R. Parros, a 21 second lieutenant from Walnut Creek, Calif., was in his first day of U.S. Army Ranger School at Fort Benning when he fell ill and was transported to the hospital for medical treatment on July 25.

Parros was treated for hyponatremia, a condition that occurs when the level of sodium in the blood is abnormally low, according to the Mayo Clinic. Sodium is an electrolyte and it helps regulate the amount of water that is in and around the cells.

Parros, who reported to Fort Benning for training on June 27, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in May and was commissioned as an infantry officer. He planned to attend the Infantry Basic Officer Leader Course after completing Ranger School.

9. Car crash victim was days away from her wedding

A 24-year-old Troup County teacher killed Oct. 16 in a three-car crash on Interstate 185 in Columbus was one week away from getting married and on the way home from a bachelorette party at the time of the crash.

Meghann Smith was engaged to Kenneth William Belcher. The two had attended a wedding shower at Smith’s grandmother’s home in LaGrange, Ga., just one day before the fatal crash.

A native of Thomaston, Smith was a teacher at Ethel W. Kight Elementary School in LaGrange. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from LaGrange College. This was Smith’s second year at the school, where she ran a reading program for students K-5, said Troup County School System spokesman Yolanda Stephens.

“She absolutely loved being a teacher,” her father, Barry Smith said.

10. New restaurants open in Columbus

Nothing gets our readers clicking faster than seeing “new restaurant” somewhere in a headline or share text.

One of the biggest ones this year was the announcement of The Shrimp Basket, a Gulf Shores, Ala.,-based restaurant that serves shrimp, crab claws, fish, po-boys, chicken and sandwiches.

The store is set to open at 6059 Veterans Parkway — just south of Northside Hospital and Hughston Clinic — sometime in January 2017, but no later than Feb. 1

Another big name in the Columbus restaurant game is Mark Jones. He owns or operates nine restaurants from Pine Mountain, Ga., to downtown Columbus.

His most recent opening on the corner of 11th Street and Broadway downtown, Smoke, claims it’s not your daddy’s barbecue and plans to appeal to the “hipster” generation.

In addition to barbecue, the restaurant offers a variety of bourbons, and bourbon cocktails as well as a wide selection of craft beers.

Related: Seafood restaurant bringing its shrimp, fish and crab claws to Columbus

This story was originally published December 29, 2016 at 5:23 PM with the headline "DiChiara open letter, bus crash, breastfeeding among 2016 top online stories."