Victim in Texas parade crash accused of lying

CANTON, Ga. (AP) — Authorities say an ex-police officer from Georgia who was injured in a train accident during a veterans parade in Texas lied about receiving a Purple Heart medal and has been arrested.

Cherokee County Sheriff's Lt. Jay Baker said Wednesday that Shane Ladner was never awarded a Purple Heart and is charged with four counts of theft by deception, false swearing and giving a false statement to police.

Ladner and his wife, Meg, were among those injured in a mid-November train crash. His wife lost a leg in the accident.

Baker says the Army has no record of a document Ladner claimed he presented in 2004 to obtain a Purple Heart Georgia license plate.

Ladner was in the Cherokee County jail on $23,000 bond. It's unclear if he has a lawyer