Helicopter Crash Victims Remembered

CAPITOL HEIGHTS, Md. - They gathered on a sun-filled, spring day to remember a dark and rainy fall night. The night Maryland State Police helicopter Trooper 2 crashed last September. Four people died.

Passenger Ashley Younger was being treated on the flight to the hospital after a car accident. The entire crew died in the crash on September 28, 2008, Pilot Stephen Bunker, 59; emergency medical technician Tanya Mallard, 39; flight paramedic Trooper Mickey Lippy, 34; and 18-year-old Younger.

Tuesday's memorial service during National EMS Week was a difficult day for many and perhaps toughest for Jordan Wells. Wells is a teenager and the sole survivor of the crash.

Maryland State Police Major Andrew McAndrew told the group, "Although we have since buried our fallen heroes and removed the helicopter wreckage from this park, a piece of me and all of us who responded to this site that fateful morning will remain here."   The memorial at the crash scene is made out of a rotor of the helicopter.

Sgt. Mike Perkins was one of the first on the scene of the crash. He told Fox 5, "I don't need to come back here to remember that night. The memories are still fresh, but this is a special place we'll never forget. It's very emotional. It's personal."

The rescuers communicate with Jordan almost every day. They say they think of her as a little sister.

Tuesday's wreath-laying at the crash site is her first formal memorial in the 8 months since the crash happened. Jordan's injuries kept her from attending any of the funerals - even that of her best friend Ashley.

The names of the victims will be placed on another memorial in Roanoke on Saturday as part of the annual Emergency Medical Services week.

There is no clear cause for the crash, but its impact is very clear. What happened that night has changed many lives.