B2 Metro The Boston Globe TUESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2019
ByEmilySweeney
GLOBE STAFFA32-year-oldNew York woman went on a
harrowing ride when she got trappedin the
luggage compartment of a Boston-bound bus
Sunday, and the bus driver who allegedly
locked her inside is now facing criminal
charges.
The woman called 911 while traveling east on Inter-
state 84, and Connecticut State Police were dispatched to
intercept the Peter Pan bus near Union, just South of the
Massachusetts border.
According to the policereport, the woman told police
that she had been “purposely locked inside by a female
driver while attempting to retrieve items from her bag.”
Police identified the accused driver as Wendy Alberty,
49, of New Jersey. She was taken into custody and
charged with reckless endangerment and unlawful restraint, as well as
breaching the peace. According to police she was beingheld on a $2,
bondand was due to appear in Rockville Superior Court on Aug. 21.
Peter Pan said the driver “is currently on investigative suspension.”
The driver, whom Peter Pan did not identify, was hired in 2012 and
“has been an exemplary employee for the company,” the bus line said.
In a statement, Peter Pan said it was “deeply concerned” over the inci-
dent and that it had suspended the driver pending an investigation.
Globe reporter Katie Johnston, who was traveling on the Peter Pan buswhen the drama unfolded, said the woman may have
been locked in the compartment “close to an hour or so”
before she was freed.
“In retrospect, a few of us remembered hearing a
banging sound that must have been her, and didn’t last
long, but didn’t think anything of it at the time,” Johnston
said.
“When the police pulled us over, they opened both lug-
gage compartments — first the one toward the front,
which she wasn’t in, then the rear one — and stared into
them for what seemed like a few minutes, and then sud-
denly, the woman appeared,” Johnston said. “She had her
laptop open, and a bunch of clothes pulled out of a big
backpackers’ backpack, and a conga-like drum.”
Johnston said the woman was wearing shorts and a
colorful scarf around her neck, and didn’t appear to be in
distress.
Apparently, the woman had gotten off the bus during a brief stop in
Hartford and never returned, she said.
“The guy who had been sitting next to her on the bus said he noticed
she wasn’t on the bus, but he figured she moved to a different seat [the
bus wasn’t completely full],” Johnston said. “The banging must have been
comingfrom her.”Emily Sweeneycanbe reachedat [email protected]. Followher on
Twitter@emilysweeney.Passenger trapped in bus cargo binAROUNDTHEREGIONDOVER, N.H.Secondlawsuitfiled inbike crash that killed 7A second lawsuit has been filed following a colli-
sion that killed seven motorcyclists in New
Hampshire. Attorney Chuck Douglas tells
WMUR-TV he filed the suit in Strafford County
Superior Court against the trucking company
that hired the driver charged. Douglas is repre-
senting Mary Lou Welch, described in court pa-
pers as the common-law wife of Albert Mazza Jr.,
of Lee, N.H., who died in the June 21 crash in
Randolph. The suit names Westfield Transport
Inc., of West Springfield, Mass. It says Westfield
negligently hired Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, despite
his troubled driving record. Zhukovskyy has
pleaded not guilty to negligent homicide. A per-
son who answered the phone at Westfield Trans-
port last week did not identify himself and would
only say the company no longer exists. (AP)PORTLAND,MAINEPortland-Westbrookrail link may top $100mThe NorthernNew England Rail Authority esti-
mates it would cost over $100million for a po-tential rail line between Portland and Westbrook.
But such a rail line faces operational and finan-
cial hurdles before becoming a possibility. The
Portland Press Herald reports the authority’s
study released this summerfinds the cheapest
possible ticket price to cover costs would be
about $12.50 per trip, not including weekend
revenue. The study says next steps would include
working with Portland and Westbrook officials to
finalize an operating plan and seeking Pan Am
Railways’ approval and support. Maine’s Legisla-
ture created the public transportation authority
in 1995 to develop and provide passenger rail
service between Maine and Boston. The authori-
ty has a 20-year agreement with Amtrak to oper-
ate the Downeaster rail service between Portland
and Boston. (AP)SOUTHBURLINGTON,VT.Vt. diocese to releaseabuse reportsoonVermont’s Roman Catholic Diocese is planning
to release by the end of the month its long-await-
ed report on priests who have been accused of
sexually abusing children. Bishop Christopher
Coyne, of the Roman CatholicDiocese of Burl-
ington, commissioned the report last October.
He says it was hoped the report could have been
published earlier but says extra time is needed‘‘to ensure a thorough and accurate accounting
of credibly accused priests.’’ Activists with the
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests are
planning a demonstration Monday in front of
the diocese’s South Burlington offices. A report
released last week by the New Hampshire dio-
cese includes the names of 73 priests dating to- (AP)
CONCORD, N.H.Guncontrol bill backersurge governor to signSupporters of several gun control measures in
New Hampshire are calling on Republican Gov-
ernor Chris Sununuto sign them in the wake of
two massshootings over the weekend. About 75
people — some holding signs that read ‘‘Protect
Kids Not Guns’’ and ‘‘Sign the Bills’’ — urged Su-
nunu on Monday to sign a bill that would ban
most guns from school grounds.Legislators also
passed bills imposing a three-day waiting period
between the purchase and delivery of a gun and
requiring background checks for all firearms
sales or transfers. Sununu has said he wouldn’t
make any changes to existing gun laws. After the
shootings in Texas and Ohiothat left 31 people
dead, Sununu tweeted that he had directed flags
to fly at half-staff to honor the victims. (AP)POLICEBLOTTERRHITANDRUNBoston police on Monday ar-
rested a 65-year-oldEverett resident for his al-
leged role in a hit and run crash that killed a
manlast monthin Charlestown, authorities
said. Police in a statement said Allen Williams
was arrested Monday morning but didn’t pro-
vide details on what led investigators to him.
It wasn’t known if Williams had hireda law-
yer. The statementdid lay out some of the cir-
cumstancessurrounding the fatal crash,
which occurredlate at nighton July 25. The
victim, whose identity has not been released,
was declared deadat the scene on Alford
Street in Charlestown.Williams will be ar-
raigned in Charlestown District Court, the
statement said.RWOMANATTACKEDBoston police have ar-
rested a Boston man, 34, who allegedly men-
aceda womanin the SouthEnd on Sunday af-
ternoon, accordingto authorities. In a state-
ment, policesaid the “aggravated assaultand
battery” occurred at 4:55 p.m.in the area of
460 HarrisonAve. Officials said MichaelPow-
ers was arrested withoutincident in the area of
774 Massachusetts Ave. at about11:25 a.m.Monday. He facescharges includingaggravated
assault and battery by meansof a dangerous
weaponand kidnapping. A message left with
the Suffolk district attorney’s office was not im-
mediately returned. In an earlierstatement,
policesaid the victim was “violently restrained
by a whitemale’’ but was able to free herself
and call for help. “Several witnesses attempted
to stop the suspect but he was able to escape,”
policesaid.RNANTUCKETBLAZEFirefighters put out a
three-alarm fire at a resort in the village of Si-
asconset Sunday afternoon,fire officials said.
The Nantucket Fire Department received a 911
call abouta fire at The SummerHouse inn and
restaurant at 17 Ocean Ave. at 12:50p.m., and
the first crews at the scenefoundflames on the
third floorof the building. The fire was brought
undercontrol by 2 p.m., fire officials said. No
injuries werereported. Fire officials reported
heavy fire damage to the third floorof the
building and smoke and water damage on the
first and second floors, and the property was
determinedto be uninhabitable by the building
inspector. The loss is estimated to be approxi-mately $1 million,fire officials said. Nantucket
Fire Chief Stephen A. Murphy said the causeof
the fire is underinvestigation. The Summer
House operates a restaurant and offers cottag-
es. Murphy said the damaged building contains
the restaurant.RIPHONE ROBBERYPolice arrested a South
Boston man for allegedly robbing two couples
in the neighborhoodin the spanof about three
hoursSunday, luring the victims to meetings
underthe pretenseof sellingthemiPhones, of-
ficials said. In a statement, Boston police iden-
tified the suspect as RayquanLeCount, 22. It
wasn’t knownif he had hireda lawyer. The
first theft occurred shortly before 3:30 p.m.in
the area of 12 Crowley Rogers Way, policesaid.
“When [two victims] arrived at the location,
they handed the money to two males who then
fled the area on foot,” the statement said.
“When the malevictim attempted to confront
the suspects, they madethreats to shoothim,
although no firearm was displayed.” The sec-
ond incidentoccurred around6:25 p.m., while
the first couple gave a statementto investiga-
tors, according to the release.GETSMARTBySarahWu
GLOBE CORRESPONDENT
Air conditioners worked overtime— and
sucked moreenergy — as Bostonianssuf-
fered through the hottest monthon record
in July. Now, imaginewhat will happenas
temperatures continue to rise worldwide in
coming decades, and people and businesses
struggle to keep cool.
A new study says climate change will fur-
ther increasethe demandfor energy, on top
of the growthin demand alreadyexpected
because of population growth and economic
development.
Even if the world’s climate didn’t change,
globalenergy demandin 2050is projected
to be two to threetimes larger thanit is to-
day, according to the study, whichwas pub-
lished in the journal Nature Communica-
tions.
The study predicts that if carbonemis-
sionscontinue unrestrained, the 2050ener-
gy demand number will be 25 percentto 58
percent higher thanthat.
If policies to reduceemissions are adopt-
ed and temperatures rise at a moremoder-
ate rate, 2050energy demandwill still be 11
to 27 percent higher, the report said.
Ian Sue Wing, an earth and environmen-
tal sciences professor at Boston University
and a coauthor of the paper, said the study
looked at statistical models of projected
growth in population and economiesand of
projected changes in climate.
Thestudy’spredictionsvariedatthere-
gionallevel, particularly between tropical
and temperate places.
The study found that someregions, most-
ly in Russia, Western Europe, Canada, Chile,
and Argentina, couldsee up to a 10 percent
net decrease in the expected energy demand
as unrestrained climate change reduces
heating bills.
On the other hand, the study found that
the tropics and southernregionsof the Unit-
ed States couldsee morethana 50 percent
increasein the expected energy demand,
while Southern Europeand China couldsee
a 25 percenthike.
“The hot temperature in the tropicswill
only get hotter,” requiring moreenergy for
cooling, Sue Wingsaid.
The researchersultimately foundthat the
decrease in energy needed for heating would
be outpacedby the increase in energy need-
ed for cooling, resulting in a net increase in
energy demandworldwide.
Sue Wingsaid becauseclimate change is
a gradual process,what’s happening might
not be visible to people.
“This is a processthat is underour collec-
tive control,but it is hardto see one’s indi-
vidual thumbprint on what’s going on,” he
said. “If I set my thermostat, I don’t see the
higher and highertemperatures outside
while I remain comfortableinside.”
Sue Wingsaid the study raises troubling
questions, including whether the rising en-
ergy demandwill be met withenergy creat-
ed by burningfossilfuels,the thingthat is
creating climate change in the first place.
One possible solution is for growingpop-
ulationsand economiesto practice energy
conservation, he said.
Anthony Janetos, director of the Pardee
Center for the Studyof the Longer-Range
Future at Boston University, said the study
underscores the importanceof pursuingze-
ro-carbonenergy sources, rather thanfossil
fuels.
“We’ve knownfor a long timethat energy
demand wouldgrowas a function of popula-
tion growth and economicdevelopment,”
Janetos said in a statement. “But for the first
time, this paper has givenus estimates of
the growthin energy demand as a function
of climate change itself.’’
Wingadded: “We coulduse coal,or we
could use renewablesources,and those two
choices meanvery differentthingsfor our
future. Withcoal,[an increase in demand]
will meanmoregreenhouse gas emissions.
That’s what keeps me up at night.”
Alsoworking on thestudy: BasvanRui-
jven, a formervisitingscholar at thePardee
Center, andEnrica DeCian, a professorat
Ca’ FoscariUniversityof Venicein Italy.
Sarah Wucan be reachedat
[email protected] Twitter
@sarahwu.
Climate change
vs. energyuse
ASSOCIATEDPRESSTheMetroMinutePAT GREENHOUSE/GLOBESTAFFCOMMUNITY
POLICING —Boston
Police got high-fives
fromchildren
attending the Shaloh
House summer camp
in Brighton on their
first stop of the 36th
NationalNightOut.
From left are Deputy
SuperintendentJames
Chin, Deputy
SuperintendentFelipe
I. Colon, and
SuperintendentNora
Baston. The National
NightOut offers free
activitiesfor kids,
food,and
entertainmentas
Mayor Walsh and BPD
CommandStaff make
the rounds to Boston’s
neighborhoods to
meet residents.WendyAlberty, identified
by policeas thebusdriver,
wasbeingheldon$2,
bondandhasa court date.