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"Absolutely devastated": Man's punishment for 5-year-old turns fatal

<p>A man has been arrested after his attempt to discipline his fiancé’s son took a turn for the worst.</p> <p>The soldier in the US state of Alabama was charged with reckless murder after he allegedly forced his girlfriend’s five-year-old son to get out of a car at night along a road.</p> <p>The young child died when he was struck by a vehicle.</p> <p>Army Sgt Bryan Starr, 35, went on to surrender himself to Russell County sheriffs after he was charged with 5-year-old Austin Birdseye’s death.</p> <p>Starr admitted to investigators that the boy began acting up in the car as they travelled on a highway near their home Sunday night.</p> <p>He went on to punish the boy by pulling his vehicle over into a church parking lot and making the boy stand outside in the rain.</p> <p>The child’s mother was not in the vehicle, he added.</p> <p>Starr lost sight of Austin but knew something was wrong when cars stopped in the middle of the road, as there the little boy had been struck by an oncoming Toyota Avalon.</p> <p>Sheriff Heath Taylor said the road was dark and the driver who struck him is not at fault, in a press conference on Monday.</p> <p>“We have their information and we’ve spoken to them and will speak to them again. But at this point, there’s no indication that they had any chance of not hitting the little guy,” Taylor said,<a rel="noopener" href="https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/crime/article247505815.html" target="_blank"> as reported by the Ledger-Enquirer</a>.</p> <p>The child died in hospital and Starr was charged with murder because he showed reckless disregard for the child’s safety, police said.</p> <p>An online campaign that was created to raise funds for Austin’s death said the little boy often sang loud “at the top of his lungs” to songs but the sheriff says he still could not understand his would-have been stepfathers’ actions.</p> <p>“What do you say to that? What is your thought process when you tell a five-year-old to get out of the car on a rainy night, because they were being loud in the car?” he said.</p> <p>“It’s just heartbreaking.”</p> <p>The GoFundMe set up to support the family has far eclipsed its $5,000 target.</p> <p>“Austin was always the centre of any impromptu living room dance party, the wonderful little boy who would chat about almost anything and with anyone in the grocery store, was the one who knew all the words to every song,” the page says.</p> <p>“He was always loving and never let any opportunity pass him by to enjoy fun. We are absolutely devastated by Austin’s passing.”</p>

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Coles slashes family favourite to just 50c – better get in quick!

<div class="replay"> <div class="reply_body body linkify"> <div class="reply_body"> <div class="body_text "> <p>Coles has just slashed its prices on a massive family item – Birds Eye Chips – ahead of a major new launch.</p> <p>The supermarket sent shoppers into a frenzy after a shopper announced the sale to the popular Facebook page, I Bought It At.</p> <p>“50 CENTS! No, not the rapper, this is the actual PRICE of these chips!!” The user wrote excitedly in a post.</p> <p>“Coles are officially clearing ALL of their Birds Eye chips ready for a new range to be launched this week.”</p> <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FiBoughtAU%2Fphotos%2Fa.341457543368116%2F369895367191000%2F%3Ftype%3D3&amp;width=500" width="500" height="528" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe> <p>The frozen hot chips can typically be purchased for a retail price of AUD$4.30. Currently, the item has been put on sale for the bargain price of just a 50-cent coin.</p> <p>A Coles spokesperson told <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-6896907/Shoppers-race-hands-50-CENT-Birds-Eye-chips-Coles.html" target="_blank">Femail</a> the sale is happening on a “store by store basis based on stock volumes,” to make shelf room for a new launch.</p> <p>“Coles is clearing space for an exciting new range of products that are set to land in stores across Australia over the next couple of weeks... watch this space,” they said.</p> <p>Shoppers suspect the Birds Eye fries are either being discontinued or coming back with newer packaging, although this is unconfirmed.</p> <p>Just weeks before Coles priced the items for 50 cents, the popular brand of chips had already been slashed to 98 cents.</p> <p>The heavily discounted price included the sea salt and rosemary and parmesan garlic flavours.</p> <p>Woolworths also held a half-price sale on selected frozen foods for just one day only, which caused a frenzy online.</p> <p>Make sure you grab your hands on a few bags of these fries as these “cheap” chips will not last long. </p> </div> <div class="body_assets"></div> </div> </div> </div>

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