Good Morning El Paso: 05.20.15

“i hope they resolve thei issues wether if it’s with umc or anybody else” taxpayers wonder what’s next after el paso children’s files for bankruptcy. we have your complete coverage. we say goodbye to a fixture in el paso radio. after entertaing k-l-a-q listeners for years — a local d-j loses his battle with cancer. and breaking overnight — more than 2 dozen tornadoes slamming the state of texas. we have your stormtrack weather coverage. we have made it to the middle of the work week — and if you like how warm the temps have been lately — you’re going to like today. here’s a live look outside from our abc-7 mountain cam this wednesday morning. we could be in store for some changes tomorrow. a very good morning el paso, las cruces, and juarez. i’m stephanie valle. and i’m hillary floren. good morning, everyone. a live look at stormtrack doppler radar is showing… currently around our region… here’s your day planner for today… expect skies, winds and temperatures in the by 8 am, by noon and for your drive home around 5 pm. we’ll talk more about what to expect for the rest of this work week and the weekend ahead coming up in your full forecast. now to our round the clock coverage out of culberson county — emergency crews are dealing with a nasty wreck on 1-10 east. this is by mile marker 170. this happened around 3 a-m. an off-duty firefighter who was in the area sent us these photos. he tells us one person was killed and 2 others hurt. we are waiting for sheriffs in culberson to get back to us to confirm that. you can see a semi truck engulfed in flames in these photos. two were involved. if you are heading in that direction… you can expect it to take a while for that mess to be cleared. the future of el paso children’s hospital is now uncertain after its board decided to file for bankruptcy yesterday. after months of negotiations, children’s board decided not to accept university medical center’s final offer to settle its more than 90 million dollar debt. mark herbers sot: “this will no be an easy process, but in order to protect children’s hospital, its scope of services, and its patients and to maintain all it has achieved in its three and a half years this is the right thing to do.” so why did the deal fail? county commissioner david stout says its because of a lien u- m-c placed on the children’s hospital — which it wanted removed. commissioner stout also says children’s was concerned about language in the contract that hinted at a possible merger children’s says it wanted an independent, freestanding children’s hospital that does not fall under the direction and financial control of u-m-c. but county hospital and commissioners all had strong words about children’s decision. “they have harmed the taxpayer, they have harmed umc, they have harmed Texas Tech, they have harmed this community.” county judge veronica escobar saying she feels betrayed by the decision to file bankruptcy. commissioner david stout says the only thing umc was trying to do was protect the taxpayer, and the filing bankruptcy will only hurt taxpayers. now children’s is urging umc to immediately re-enter mediation — saying if they can push the reset button, both will be in great position to do great things. get this, commissioners suspect children’s knew it was going to file for bankruptcy as early as this february. also, abc-7 learned from children’s bankruptcy documents that u- m-c knew of children’s financial issues all the way back in 2013. its was in 2014 when abc-7 discovered it, and we’ve been following ever since. so what does the bankruptcy filing do for childrens? abc-7 spoke with spira ceo andy kafsur — he’s a lawyer and former bankruptcy trustee. he says chapter 11 bankruptcy is bad for everyone involved. he says the hospital doesn’t appear to have enough money to operate profitably — which means it’s going to have to get a loan to continue operating. this is a creditor- controlled process and umc is a secured creditor — which means umc would have an absolute veto right over any bankruptcy plan. the process is going to drag on for months — and more time — means more costs. new this morning– we are hearing from doctors over at el paso children’s. how will this move affect hospital staff? and more importantly patient care. good morning el paso’s denise olivas is live with some unexpected reaction. she continues our complete coverage… denise? we spoke with the medical director of radiology. he says children’s announcement of filing for bankruptcy was not a shocker. through the entire process leading up to yesterday the administration and board did not keep staff in the dark. in fact dr. chay-than moorthy says a majority of the staff agrees with children’s decision to file for bankruptcy. he says much of the staff relied on umc as a partner, but says umc did not fulfill that obligation. dr. moorthy says there was a lack of trust. he adds– the staff has been assured that operations will not change, current employees will be paid, employee turnover will be fulfilled and patients will be taken care of. but there may be a slight change in how new doctors are brought in: “physician recruitment to the extent…for the last few years” dr. moorthy says he trusts children’s board and their mission to take care of the children of el paso. well known el paso radio d-j scott ronson has died. the station, k-l-a-q, says ronson lost his battle with lung cancer yesterday — more than a year after being diagnosed. k-l-a-q says he leaves behind a wife, daughters and grandchildren. now it’s time to take a look at the tx-dot traffic cams… it is now the single largest recall in american history. coming up, what drivers need to know about the takata airbag recall. also: “Next thing i know i see th roof and boards are flying through the air and that’s when we knew we had to get inside” more than 2 dozen tornadoes reported in the state of texas. some places getting the most rain they’ve seen in decades! and back here in the borderland — meteorologist krystal klei has your detailed forecast. krystal… and this is abc-7, where news comes first!