A UPS truck got tangled in downed power lines early this morning on Home Ave. in Akron after last night's strong thunderstorms.

The driver was near Moe Dr. around 3 a.m. Thursday morning when he drove over a line that got caught underneath his truck.

Akron Police Capt. Dan Zampelli says it was a long wait for the driver before he could get out of his truck.

"They had the driver remain in the vehicle until Ohio Edison could get there and disconnect the power lines so that they knew there wasn't a charged line going to his UPS truck when they finally got him out of there," he said.

Zampelli says Akron could have had it much worse in the storm.

"We didn't get nearly the problems, the downed trees, power lines, etc. that citizens south of us and other neighboring cities have," he said.

Zampelli said there were only a few streets that needed to be closed due to storm issues.

Home Ave. was fully reopened around 2:30 Thursday afternoon.

Akron Police are looking for a suspect in a robbery at a home on Upson St. early Thursday morning.

Police Capt. Dan Zampelli said a man heard a knock at his door around 2 a.m. When he answered it, the suspect pulled a gun and entered the house. He hit the victim with the gun before taking money and a cell phone.

The victim told police he thinks he's seen the suspect in the neighborhood. They're looking for a black male between 25-30 years old, 5'8" to 5'9" tall, and 170 lbs.

Akron Police are looking for the person who held up the manager of a Family Dollar store Wednesday morning.

They say the 25-year-old woman was leaving the store on East South Street to take the previous day's receipts to the bank around 6:30 a.m. She was approached by someone who pulled out a gun and demanded the money.

Detectives are still investigating. The suspect was described as wearing a black hoodie with red markings and a ski mask.

An Akron man says aliens played a role in him losing his car last week.

The man told Tuscarawas County Sheriff's deputies he was told by the aliens to go to a field early last Tuesday morning where an airport would appear so he could be "picked up." His car broke down on the way, and he said he ditched it because "they were keeping him from getting to his "rendezvous point."

He wasn't abducted. Deputies took him from a gas station in Magnolia to a hotel near Belden Village Mall so his roommate could pick him up the next day. The Times-Reporter says deputies don't think the car was abducted either.

On the web: www.timesreporter.com

A crash into a gas station guardrail led to an Akron man's sixth conviction for drunk driving.

Samuel D. Hoffmeyer was convicted in Summit County Common Pleas Court. He ran his truck into a guardrail at the Sheetz gas station on W. Waterloo Rd. in September. A statement from Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh said police saw Hoffmeyer stagger out of his truck and try to run, but nearby officers picked him up.

Hoffmeyer will be sentenced on July 11 in the courtroom of Judge Tammy O'Brien.

Akron Children's Hospital has been ranked among the nation's best hospitals for child care, according to the rankings released by the U.S. News and World Report.

Akron Children’s was ranked in the top 50 in all seven of the specialties that were included in the reports. The hospital ranks 22nd on the list in orthopedics which moved up 13 spots from last year.

In Cleveland, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital ranked 2nd in neonatology and 7th in pulmonolgy. Children's Hospital Cleveland Clinic ranked 8th in neurology and neurosurgery.

Click here to view an interactive map and a full list of the rankings.

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Press Release:

Akron Children’s Hospital has been ranked in seven pediatric specialties in U.S. News & World Report’s 2013-14 Best Children’s Hospitals rankings, available online today at www.usnews.com/childrenshospitals.

Akron Children’s was ranked:

22 in orthopedics
26 in cancer
28 in neurology & neurosurgery
29 in pulmonology
31 in urology
32 in diabetes and endocrinology
37 in nephrology

“To be ranked alongside the best children’s hospitals in the country is really a testament to our pediatric specialists and the work they do every day in caring for our patients,” said Shawn Lyden, executive vice president. “Through their superb clinical care, research and work in educating future doctors, they have really put us on the map.”

A highlight of this year’s rankings was seeing Akron Children’s orthopedics program move up 13 spots to reach 22nd place.

“This is a great honor and I credit our higher ranking with the super specialization we have achieved in recent years,” said Kerwyn Jones, MD, chairman of the Department of Orthopedics. “Specialization has allowed us to achieve higher quality for the patient and a greater research interest level for the surgeon.”

Dr. Jones and his seven fellow pediatric orthopedic surgeons have become known for their expertise in such areas as surgery of the spine, back, hips, feet, arms and knees. As they have focused their practices in these areas, they have been able to delve into clinical and basic science research, study best practices, and present and publish their findings for peer review.

The department has the expertise to treat issues ranging from common fractures to sports-related and traumatic injuries, as well as highly specialized orthopedic concerns such as early onset scoliosis, brachial plexus injuries, ACL tears, spina bifida, skeletal dysplasia, limb lengthening, and hip reconstruction.

Akron Children’s also saw its neurology and neurosurgery and childhood cancer and blood disorder programs each move up nine places to 28 and 26 place, respectively.

“Our goal is simply to be the best we can be for the children of our region,” said Lyden. ”Our growth, our quality and safety initiatives, and our desire to recruit top medical talent all come back to that.”

For families of sick children, the Best Children’s Hospitals rankings provide quality-related information, such as survival rates, adequacy of nurse staffing, and procedure volume. Since their 2007 debut, the rankings have put an increasing emphasis on data that directly reflect the hospitals’ performance over the opinions of physicians.

This year, U.S. News surveyed 178 pediatric centers to obtain data such as availability of key resources and ability to prevent complications and infections. The hospital survey is made up of 75 percent of the rankings. A separate reputational survey in which 1,500 pediatric specialists – 150 in each specialty – were asked where they would send the sickest children in their specialty made up the remaining 25 percent.

Police say a 54-year-old man was robbed while collecting signatures around an Akron neighborhood Thursday night.

The victim told police the robbery happened near Neptune Avenue and Firestone Boulevard where he was collecting signatures for an individual who was interested in running for city council.

Police say two men approached the man and demanded money. The suspects fled the scene.

Only a vague description of the suspects was released.

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Akron police are investigating a shooting that happened on the city's north side late Thursday night. 

A 26-year-old woman told officers she was sleeping in her bedroom when she woke up to the sound of gunshots in the 900 block of North Howard Street. 

Police say three gunshots struck the home. No one was injured. Police have not identified any suspects.

The shooting remains under investigation.

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Mayor of Barberton Bill Judge talks to Ray about the proposed income tax increase and where the money would go. 

Brian Thomas from Akron Triple A talks to ray about the spike in gas prices and when they might come down.

Tim Alcorn from WEOL-AM in Elyria gives Ray a preview of the Girls High School Girls Softball Tournament, talks about the Indians recent struggles and Chris Perez. 

Akron area drivers are feeling the pain at the pump.

Some stations in the area were selling regular unleaded gasoline for as much as $4.19 per gallon Wednesday.

Patrick DeHaan of GasBuddy says refinery issues in the Chicago area are to blame.

"Naturally, Great Lakes gas prices are going to be the most impacted," he said.

DeHaan said the high prices linger for a week or two until gas from other parts of the country can get here and force prices down. In the meantime, he doesn't expect all stations to raise their prices over $4.00.

There are still stations around Northeast Ohio selling gas in the high $3.50s and $3.60s.