Guard, inmate plunge down elevator shaftWILKES-BARRE — Officials say a corrections officer and an inmate smashed through an elevator door during a scuffle at a Pennsylvania jail and plunged down an open shaft to their deaths.Luzerne County Manager David Pedri called it a “freak accident.”He says 25-year-old corrections officer Kristopher Moules and 27-year-old Timothy D. Gilliam Jr. exchanged words Monday night, then got into a physical altercation on the fifth floor of the Luzerne County Correctional Facility in Wilkes-Barre.He says another corrections officer who was helping Moules narrowly avoided plunging down the elevator shaft, too.The coroner says both men died of multiple traumatic injuries from their fall. An investigation is underway to determine how the elevator door gave way.

Turnpike tolls to increase 6%HARRISBURG — Motorists will soon see higher prices when paying to travel the Pennsylvania Turnpike.Turnpike tolls will increase by 6 percent after midnight on Jan. 7, a price jump largely attributed to the cost of rebuilding and widening the road system.The most common toll for a passenger vehicle will increase from $1.16 to $1.23 for E-ZPass customers and from $1.80 to $1.95 for cash customers. The most common toll for a tractor-trailer will increase from $9.59 to $10.17 for E-ZPass customers and from $13.60 to $14.45 for cash customers.Turnpike officials say revenues will fund a recently approved 10-year spending plan. The commission expects annual increases of up to 6 percent until 2044.

Pitt trustees OK tuition hikePITTSBURGH — The University of Pittsburgh’s trustees are giving their approval for a tuition increase for in-state main campus students and out-of-state students for the 2016-17 academic year.The new rates approved Monday raise tuition at Pitt’s four regional campuses by 1.9 percent.The university has a $2.1 billion operating budget.After a freeze last year, university officials are stressing that the increase is one of the smallest percentage hikes in 41 years. Base tuition at Pitt’s main campus will jump from $17,292 to $17,688 a year.University Chancellor Patrick Gallagher says serving the interests of students and alumni means costs have to be monitored and controlled.Pitt received $159 million as part of the state’s new budget, a 3 percent increase from last year.

Developer for LTV Coke Works sought,/b>PITTSBURGH — The group of foundations that owns the former LTV Coke Works along the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh is looking for a master developer to take charge of the site.A Pittsburgh newspaper reports Almono LP announced Monday it is seeking a developer “with both the financial resources and the global experience in producing exceptional and sustainable urban locations.”Officials say Rebecca Flora, the former executive director of Pittsburgh’s Green Building Alliance, will lead the search for the master developer and will assume many of the Regional Industrial Development Corp.’s duties in directing the development.No timetable for selecting the master developer was announced.Coroner: 17-year-old died of overdoseLOWER BURRELL — The county coroner says a 17-year-old Pennsylvania girl found dead on the day she was supposed to graduate from high school accidentally overdosed on a combination of prescription drugs.The Westmoreland County coroner says 17-year-old Laura Elizabeth Hoover had no heroin or illegal drugs in her system.Investigators refused to list the drugs that killed her.Hoover was a senior at Burrell High School, about 25 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, when her body was found in a car that came to rest against a tree in a neighboring township about 1 a.m. May 26.An autopsy uncovered no sign Hoover was injured when the vehicle apparently drifted off the road. Toxicology results from her autopsy were released Monday.Allegheny Township police are investigating the source of the drugs and say that person could still be charged.Fees going up at Gettysburg parkGETTYSBURG — It will cost more to visit exhibits surrounding the hallowed ground of Gettysburg National Military Park.The National Park Service has approved higher fees for the museum, film and Cyclorama experience.Visitors age 13 and older will pay $15 instead of $12.50, beginning in January.The last fee increase was in 2012.The park service says it expects to continue to work collaboratively for the long-term financial sustainability of the exhibits.There is no entrance fee for the park itself.