Top 2021 stories you read on FOX26Houston.com
HOUSTON - A runaway tiger, a highway gator, a bathroom baby and a true 'screwed up' Houston wedding! Those top stories and more made up a busy 2021 news year for Houston readers.
Here are the biggest storylines that Houstonians clicked, watched and read on FOX26Houston.com!
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'She's a strong one right there': Texas nurse, mother gives birth in a gas station bathroom
Published on July 14, 2021
A Texas newborn will have quite a story to tell someday after he was born in a Fort Bend County gas station and there’s a video to prove it.
"I started feeling like a lot of pressure down there. Like it was really uncomfortable," explains Kaitlyn Fullerton, 22, who was nine months pregnant and heading from Houston home to Victoria with her husband when she told him she needed a bathroom break.
However, once inside a gas station in Beasley, Texas she started doing what most people probably don’t in a public potty, praying out loud.
"God please don’t let me have this baby in this restroom," Fullerton prayed.
However, as she stood in the stall that’s exactly what happened.
New Houston-area homeowners angry after discovering their yards are smaller than what they are paying for
Published on July 28, 2021
New subdivisions are popping up outside of Houston, and in Beasley, a small town a little more than an hour south, there are already some unhappy homeowners.
"I have a sign that says acreage on it," said new homeowner Nina Lerma. "When I bought my home, this was actually sitting on the corner of my lot."
Lerma and several other homeowners in Sunfield Estates thought they bought an acre of land, only to discover they did not.
The bigger problem: they’re paying taxes on it.
Houston restaurant claims Uber Eats owes them more than $20,000
Published on July 14, 2021
A Houston family-owned business claims Uber Eats owes them money from more than 700 orders, or an estimated $20,000.
Walk down the stairs at Underground Food Hall on Prairie and Main Street downtown and discover tacos galore at Birria Los Primos, a family-owned business by Emily Garcia and her father, Oscar.
"It's Mexican and we do birria which is originally from Guadalajara, Jalisco. But it’s Tijuana-style," Garcia said.
Since opening in March, Garcia says they haven’t received any money from Uber Eats.
UPDATE: Garcia says Uber Eats ended up paying the full amount after FOX 26 got involved in the story. But the restaurant no longer partners with the service. They now just use GrubHub or Square online for pickups.
Pickup truck runs over 6 cyclists in Waller County, 4 people hospitalized
Published Sept. 25, 2021
A group of Houston-area cyclists was hit by a pickup truck in Waller County, sending the athletes to the hospital.
According to the Waller County Sheriff, six cyclists were hit by the vehicle along old 290, roughly two miles west of Waller. In total, four of the cyclists had to be taken to area hospitals, including two by helicopter.
"I thought someone was dead," said Chase Ferrell. "I heard a lot of crunching. I heard brakes. Tires screeching. People screaming."
Six-year-old Houston boy looking for family to adopt him
Published on Aug. 30, 2021
Six-year-old Aidan will always give a smile to anyone who smiles at him.
FOX 26 anchor Sally MacDonald met him at Jumping World in Houston, where he showed her how he can do a flip.
Parental rights were terminated last year due to neglect, and his siblings were placed in separate homes where the adoptive families couldn’t take all the children, leaving Aidan in foster care.
The boy deserves to have a permanent family to love and support him as he grows up.
UPDATE: Aidan is doing great in his new adoptive placement that he moved to right after Thanksgiving.
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Driver hits 10-foot, 300-pound gator on Montgomery County highway
Published on May 6, 2021
It’s probably not something you thought you would have to worry about while driving: a 300-pound gator in the middle of the roadway.
A driver was traveling on SH 99 in Montgomery County in the early morning of May 6 when he encountered just that.
Studies suggest 4 vitamins to lower risk of severe cases of COVID-19
Published on Dec. 23, 2020
We've learned a lot the past year about how to fight COVID-19.
The latest studies show an arsenal in your medicine cabinet could be quite simple, in the form of vitamins.
After dozens of studies have recently shown the importance of Vitamin D when fighting COVID-19, Dr. Peter Osborne with Origins Nutrition Center suggests, you consider a blood test to check your vitamin levels.
He also says the most recent studies show that nine out of 10 COVID-19 deaths could be prevented if people had adequate Vitamin D levels.
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Former University of Houston sprinter, NCAA national champion passes away
Published on Aug. 10, 2021
Cameron Burrell (Source: University of Houston)
Former University of Houston sprinter and NCAA national champion Cameron Burrell passed away on Aug. 9 at the age of 26.
According to the university, Burrell lettered with the Houston Track and Field program from 2013 to 2018, competing for his father, Head Coach and gold medal sprinter Leroy Burrell.
Burrell is survived by his father, Leroy; his mother, Olympic gold medalist Michelle Finn-Burrell, brothers, Joshua and Jaden, and numerous family members and friends.
'It's Victor's tiger,' HPD says wild animal belongs to man whose attorney denied ownership
Published on May 15, 2021
'It's Victor's tiger,' HPD says wild animal belongs to man whose attorney denied ownership
In a shocking turn of events, a missing tiger was finally found after several days and our Matthew Seedorff tells us that despite Victor Cuevas' attorney claiming it did not belong to his client, Houston police are confirming otherwise.
India the Bengal tiger seen on camera roaming around west Houston was safely located on May 15, 2021.
It's unclear where or how the 9-month-old male tiger was found, but investigators confirmed he does not appear to be harmed.
Houston Police told FOX 26 the tiger was taken to BARC Animal Shelter.
UPDATE: India the tiger is living in a sanctuary in Murchison, Texas called Cleveland Armory Black Beauty Ranch.
Wedding-day freestyle by Houston couple goes viral
Published on Aug. 9, 2021
Fatimat and Kingsley Okafor had a wedding entrance only a Houston couple could do.
They showed up to the reception and went into a freestyle inspired by the legend DJ Screw.
The video of the moment went viral on social media, getting viewed by tens of thousands.