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Page 4/The Battalion/Friday, December 11,1987
Officials probe
crash involving
police officers
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Police
temporarily closed a section of busy
highway Thursday to investigate the
site of a fiery crash that injured four
patrolmen who were off duty, au
thorities said.
Three of the four officers have
been disciplined for rule violations
in the past.
Williams’ 25-year-old wife, Mar
garet, was in serious condition at
Brooke Army Medical Center, hos
pital spokesman Bob Clark said.
He declined to elaborate on her
injuries.
The police department’s internal
affairs office has taken over the in
vestigation, officials said.
Witnesses told police the officers’
super-cab pickup truck and another
car were weaving across the highway
at speeds nearing 100 mph before
the truck slammed into a concrete
wall on Interstate Loop 410, over
turned and caught fire early
Wednesday.
Police spokesman Romana Lopez
said a patrolman filed the initial acci
dent report because special traffic
investigators only report to fatal ac
cidents.
Witness William C. Garrison Jr. of
San Antonio said the pickup truck
was going about 100 mph while it
tried to pass a car.
“It looked like they were horsing
around,” he said.
“They would change from the left
lane all the way over to the right,” he
said.
Joe Constantino, secretary of the
Police and Fire Civil Service Com
mission, said Thursday that Wil
liams, Mize and Ramey had been
suspended for rule violations that
are unrelated to the patrolmen’s ac
cident.
The speciality unit closed part of
the road while it conducted the in
vestigation Thursday.
“The reason they closed part of
the road was because of the serious
ness of the accident and because In
ternal Affairs is investigating the in
cident to see if any rules or
regulations were violated,” Lopez
said.
The driver of the truck, William
Williams, 26, was in critical condition
Thursday after undergoing surgery
at Medical Center Hospital, hospital
spokesman Lynn Blanco said.
Patrolman Clarence Mize, 27, also
was in critical condition with mul
tiple injuries, she said.
Gary Simpkins, 28, was released
Thursday and Wayne Ramey, 26,
was treated and released late
Wednesday, Blanco said.
Williams was suspended in Jan
uary 1986 after he was accused of re
peatedly harassing a female store
clerk and having women inside of
his patrol car while he was on duty.
He was reinstated two months
later after an arbitration panel over
turned the action.
He also had a one-day suspension
in December 1984 for getting into a
fight while off duty, Constantino
said.
Mize was suspended for 20 days in
October 1986 after he admitted to
being away from an assignment and
to having alcholic beverages inside
of his patrol car, Constantino re
ported.
Ramey twice was suspended in
1983 for failing to thoroughly search
his prisoners, who later were exam
ined when they reached police sta
tion and were disarmed of knives,
Constandno said.
Key:
- Lightning
3 - Fog
- Thunderstorms
• •
• Rain
** - Snow
? ? - Drizzle
- Ice Pellets
•
SJ m Rain Shower
- Freezing Rain
Sunset Today; 5:24 p.m.
Sunrise Saturday: 7:12 a.m.
Map Discussion: An intensifying ridge of high pressure over the eastern
Pacific will build a surface high over the western United States, which
will bring a broad cyclonic flow aloft over the remainder of the country,
The cold front will push steadily southeastward, bringing cooler
temperatures to southeast Texas. Expect snow and snow showers over
the central Rockies, the upper Ohio valley, and from the Great Lakes to
New England.
Forecast:
Today. Partly cloudy and warm with a high temperature of 76 degrees
and southerly winds of 12 mph gusting to 20 mph.
Tonight. Partly cloudy with the cold front passing Bryan-College Station
near midnight to start the cooling trend. Winds will be southerly ahead of
the front and northwesterly and gusty once the front passes. Low
temperature Saturday morning will be 42 degrees.
Saturday. Mostly cloudy and cool. High temperature in the upper fifties
with northerly winds of 10 mph to 16 mph.
Weather Fact Cold front — Any non-occluded front, or portion thereof,
that moves so that the colder air replaces the warmer air; i.e. the
“leading edge” of a relatively cold air mass.
Prepared by: Charlie Brentoo
Staff Meteorologist
A&M Department of Meteorologi
A&M biochemist searches for clues
to help solve emphysema mystery
By Todd Riemenschneider
Staff Writer
When Texas A&M professor Ed
gar F. Meyer Jr. works at his com
puter, he looks like he’s playing a
complicated video game.
However it may look, though,
Meyer is not playing; he is doing se
rious research.
In his laboratory by the old
creamery by the Pavilion — one of
the most unlikely places on campus
for research — Meyer uses bioche
mistry, X-ray crystallography and
advanced computer graphics to
study the structure of molecules.
“I’ve been working on this project
for eight years, and we chose a pro
ject at the beginning that was prom
ising and has held true as a good re
search project,” he said.
Meyer, a biochemistry and bi
ophysics professor, uses the com
puter to look at the molecular struc
ture of an enzyme called elastase.
While he examines the structure, the
screen takes on the graphic charac
teristics of a video game. There are
colored lines everywhere and they
move in every direction.
“The enzyme is like Pac Man, and
it actually has a wedge, a mouth pie
ce,” Meyer said.
Meyer studies an elastase found in
the pancreas of swine. It is similar to
the human leukocyte elastase, which
is blamed for much of the damage
done by emphysema, a condition in
which the walls of the lungs break
down, leading to problems with res
piratory functions and increasing
trouble with normal breathing.
In emphysema, the human leuko
cyte elastase enzymes become chemi
cally active and chew their way into
the lung tissue needed to oxygenate
the blood.
The action of the enzymes de
stroys lung tissue after they combine
with or attach to the tissue.
Meyer said molecules have to in
teract for the enzyme process to be
effective.
“The molecules must act as a lock
and key,” Meyer said, referring to
the way certain molecules work with
the larger structues.
The graphics capability of the
computer provides a valuable tool
for Meyer to watch how the mole
cules interact.
The three-dimensional picture
created by the computer allows him
to analyze the enzyme’s structure in
detail.
“With 60,000 individual mea
surements, if you had to do this by
hand it just would not be done,”
Meyer said. “You have to have a
computer. We are in a position to
look at in great detail what the inter
actions of the molecules are.”
Meyer said the goal of the re
search is to find keys to unlock the
possibilities of new drugs to help
mankind.
“Facilities like this are part of be-
Photo by JayJanoti
Dr. Edgar f. Meyers Jr. studies the interactive graphics display.
ing a world-class university,” Meyer
said. “If we can address a highly sig
nificant problem and make contri
butions, it is helpful to mankind and
makes A&M look good.”
Meyer compared his research to
the work of an artist.
“The biochemist with his palette
of colors can change the color, the
shape and the light and try to
out what effect it will have on
whole picture,” he said.
However, Meyer said, conduct®!
research to find new drugs involve
a slow, ongoing process.
“Michelangelo didn’t paint tl 1
Sistine Chapel over a few wee! 1
ends,” he said.
Lc
be
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