2nd Street Bridge rescue, Scottie Scheffler arrest, Givaudan plant explosion top WDRB News stories of 2024

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- This year, the WDRB News team jumped into action during several breaking news events and chronicled one of the biggest fraud scandals in southern Indiana.

Here are the top 5 WDRB News stories of 2024:

Crews rescue driver of semitruck that crashed over 2nd Street Bridge

Around noon on March 1, the Clark Memorial Bridge, also known as the Second Street Bridge, was closed in both directions for more than 24 hours after a four-vehicle crash sent a Sysco semi tractor-trailer through safety barriers that left it dangling over the Ohio River.

The driver, 26-year-old Sydney Thomas, was trapped inside for about 45 minutes until Louisville fireman Bryce Carden swung down and pulled her to safety.

"She was just praying. She was praying a lot. And I prayed with her," Carden said.

Thomas went to the hospital, but was not physically injured.

While there are no cameras on the bridge, officials said it was a chain reaction crash and the semitruck did not cause the initial impact.

Witnesses told police a pickup truck, driven by Trevor Branham, 33, of Jeffersonville, was speeding and weaving in and out of traffic in the southbound lanes when he hit a stalled vehicle in the right lane. That caused Branham to lose control of the truck, cross into the northbound lanes and hit another car with two people inside before crashing into the semitruck.

Witness accounts of the crash were caught on dashcam video that showed a pickup truck swerving to avoid the stalled vehicle before crashing into the semi, which hit a bridge support beam on the west side of the bridge before going through the iron fence railing. The semi snagged on the bridge beam, which kept it from dropping into the Ohio River.

Branham, who broke several bones in the wreck, was originally charged with four counts of wanton endangerment and one count of operating on a suspended license. But he was cleared of those charges after a grand jury returned a "no true bill" on the felony wanton endangerment charges, meaning there was not enough evidence for the case to move forward.

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Convicted Louisville murderer Brice Rhodes sentenced

Nearly eight years after Brice Rhodes was charged with brutally murdering three people, including two teenage brothers, his case finally concluded on March 13, with a judge following a jury’s recommended sentence that he spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The jury had deliberated for less than an hour before convicting Rhodes of the murders, one count of tampering with physical evidence, and two counts of abuse of a corpse in the May 2016 shooting of Christopher Jones and brutal beating and stabbings of teenage brothers Maurice Gordon, 16, and Larry Ordway, 14. Their bodies were burned.

The case stalled for years as Rhodes cycled through numerous attorneys, who Rhodes either refused to work with or threatened. He waited more than a year for a mental competency evaluation and the case languished through the pandemic when courts were shut down.

His bizarre outbursts in the courtroom, including threatening judges and attorneys, implying the lead prosecutor and a previous judge were having an affair and calling several court officials racists, angered family members of the victims and prompted even more publicity in the high-profile case.

Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Julie Kaelin had previously ruled that while Rhodes was competent to stand trial, he was ineligible for the death penalty, finding he has a documented history of serious mental illness or intellectual disability.

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World's top golfer Scottie Scheffler arrested before 2nd day of PGA Championship at Valhalla

Two weeks after the 150th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, the PGA Championship took over Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville.

Around 5 a.m. on May 17, it was dark and rainy when a charter-style bus carrying volunteers hit and killed security guard John Mills, who was crossing the street.

Two hours later, when pro-golfer Scottie Scheffler arrived to the course he tried to get through. Louisville Metro Police accused Scheffler of refusing to stop near the scene of the fatal crash at the course entrance.

While police were still on Shelbyville Road investigating that crash, they claimed in Scheffler's arrest report that he was driving "eastbound to gain access to the course" at Valhalla Gate 1 when he pulled into a westbound lane "where outbound traffic was flowing and to avoid backed up traffic." Steve Romines, Scheffler's attorney, said one police officer directed him to go around and into the facility, but the arresting officer was unaware and stopped the golfer.

Louisville Metro Police accused Scheffler of refusing to comply with orders from Detective Bryan Gillis, accelerating forward and dragging Gillis to the ground. The officer was taken to the hospital with apparent pain, swelling and abrasions to his left knee and wrist. His uniform pants, which were estimated to have cost $80, "were damaged beyond repair," according to the arrest report.

Scheffler was booked into jail in downtown Louisville around 7:30 a.m., charged with felony assault of a police officer, criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from officers directing traffic.

Twelve days after his arrest, A Louisville judge dismissed the charges against Scheffler at the request of prosecutors and his defense attorney.

Jefferson County Attorney Mike O'Connell told Jefferson District Court Judge Anne Delahanty during an afternoon hearing in downtown Louisville that Scheffler's assertion that the incident was a "big misunderstanding" was "corroborated by the evidence."

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Jamey Noel sentenced to prison on 27 felony charges in fraud case

Former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Oct. 14 after pleading guilty to 27 felonies.

Special Judge Larry Medlock reticently accepted a plea agreement calling for the incarceration and millions in restitution, telling Noel his "greed" caused tremendous pain for his employees, family members and the people in his community. The sentence was actually 15 years in prison, but three of those years were suspended to probation.

Noel, 53, pleaded guilty to theft, obstruction of justice, tax evasion, money laundering, corrupt business influence and official misconduct on Aug. 26. He agreed to the plea deal nearly a year after he was arrested and Indiana State Police investigators raided his home in southern Indiana.

Medlock said Noel probably deserved a lifetime in prison for his conduct, but that sentence was not allowed. The judge also fined Noel $270,000 "since you worship at the altar of money."

About 20 victims who worked under Noel or were affected by his leadership at the sheriff's office, New Chapel Fire/EMS and the Utica Township Volunteer Fire Department spoke about how Noel's actions caused deaths of people and inmates who needed quicker medical treatment, mental and physical pain among employees and stolen funds that robbed the community of necessary resources.

As part of the plea deal, Noel was ordered to pay more than $3.1 million in restitution to four different public agencies:

$2,870,924 to Utica Township Volunteers Firefighters Association (dba New Chapel EMS)
$173,155.07 to the Indiana Department of Revenue
$61,190.77 to the Clark County Sheriff's Department
$35,245.60 to Indiana State Police

Four of Noel's charges of felony ghost employment were dismissed as part of the deal. He agreed to serve a total sentence of 15 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections with three years suspended to probation. He'll receive credit for days served, beginning June 8, 2024. Noel had been in custody in the Scott County Jail on a $1.5 million bond. His jury trial was scheduled to begin in November.

He is now serving his prison sentence in eastern Indiana at the New Castle Correctional Annex. It's a little more than 50 miles east of Indianapolis. He has a projected release date of June 2033.

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2 killed in Givaudan plant explosion in Louisville's Clifton neighborhood

Two employees of Givaudan Sense Colour were killed and several others were injured after an explosion in Louisville's Clifton neighborhood.

Around 3 p.m. on Nov. 12, residents across the city reported feeling the explosion at the plant on Payne Street that shattered windows and shook nearby homes.

Austin Jaggers, 29, and Keven Dawson, 49, were killed. It took crews more than eight hours to locate Dawson, who was the final victim in the rubble of the explosion.

The delay was due to miscommunication from plant leaders, who initially believed all workers were accounted for within a couple of hours of the blast.

A shelter in place was issued for a 1-mile radius from the area of the plant. While the shelter in place was later lifted, an evacuation order was issued for the two blocks surrounding the building.

Twelve patients were taken to local hospitals with various injuries, from burns to blunt force, penetration, and crushing injuries from debris.

More than a month later, caution tape still surrounds several neighboring homes and some windows remain boarded-up along Payne Street as cleanup continues.

While construction equipment signals activity at the Givaudan site, some neighbors feel the company’s priorities are misplaced. Residents who declined to go on camera claimed Givaudan has focused more on creating parking for construction workers than addressing property repairs. Calls for assistance from the company have reportedly gone unanswered, leading to lawsuits being filed.

Another lawsuit was filed last week, accusing Givaudan of negligence. The suit alleges that evacuated properties were burglarized and residents have not received adequate financial support for damages or long-term housing needs. Nearly 500 people have signed a petition urging the company to relocate outside of the residential area.

The explosion was the second in just over two decades at the plant, which has been operated by Switzerland-based Givaudan since 2021. One worker was killed in 2003 when a tank overheated and burst, according to federal investigators' conclusion of what likely happened at the facility then operated by D.D. Williamson & Co.

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