Kansas City (KSHB/CNN) - Three flight medics and a patient who died in a helicopter crash Friday in Missouri are being remembered.
Under a falling sun, I-29 lit up Saturday night with the lights of first responder vehicles. The motorcade carried the bodies of the medics from Kansas City to St. Joseph.
Cars stopped, people got out, and for a moment, time seemed to stand still.
"Our condolences to the family," said Craig Yale.
Yale is the vice president of Air-Methods, the group that runs the medic service. He said some of the crew members had been working in northern Missouri more than ten years, other just started last year.
"These were very dedicated passionate people who were passionate about doing what they were doing," said Yale.
Randy Bever helped start the flight net operation in 1998. Paramedic Chris Frakes had been flying with the company for five years, and pilot James Freudenberg just started with the company, but he was a military pilot until 2010. His last mission was in Afghanistan.
The crew was taking 58-year-old Terry Tacoronte from her family's home in Bethany to Liberty Hospital.
Neighbors said she and her husband were visiting from Colorado.
It's not apparent why the helicopter went down, but Yale said they stopped in Mosby to get more fuel.
Some local pilots suggest the aircraft ran out of gas.
"Obviously that was not a planned stop. I would say that was an emergency stop," said pilot Robert Haas.
The company's vice president said it's too soon to tell why the chopper went down.
"I don't know we won't know for awhile, but I would suggest that it is probably important not to jump to conclusion, because frequently in these accident investigations other things come to light," said Yale.
The company is organizing a remembrance ceremony for all of the victims.
Watch Video: http://www.ksdk.com
No comments:
Post a Comment