First responders mourn loss of helicopter pilot, nurse killed in crash

JASON, THANK YOU SO MUCH. THE VICTIMS IN YESTERDAY’S DEADLY HELICOPTER CRASH HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED. THE PILOT, 63 YEAR OLD MORGAN FROM SYLACAUGA AND 43 YEAR OLD ARE IN ADAM RUSSELL DIED WHEN THAT HELICOPTER CRASHED ON BEAR CREEK ROAD RIGHT NEAR MOUNT MOUNTAIN OAKS ROAD IN CHELSEA. WE’RE TOLD A THIRD CREW MEMBER IS STILL RECOVERING AT THE HOSPITAL. WHENEVER OUR FIRST RESPONDERS ANSWER THAT CALL, THEY KNOW THAT THAT THERE’S A POSSIBILITY TO HAVE SOMETHING VERY BAD HAPPEN IN AN OUTCOME THAT NONE OF US WANT. AND THESE THIS FLIGHT CREW ON LIFESAVER, THEY’RE HEROES IN SUCH A TRAGEDY. WVTM 13. CHIP SCARBOROUGH IS LIVE TONIGHT FOR US IN SYLACAUGA. JEFF, I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU SPOKE WITH SOME OF THOSE WHO KNEW AND ONCE WORKED ALONGSIDE THOSE TWO VICTIMS. YEAH. AND IN BRITTANY, BOTH HELICOPTER PILOT MARC DANN AND NURSE ADAM RUSSELL WORKED AS FIREFIGHTERS AS WELL. AND TONIGHT, THEY’RE BEING REMEMBERED FOR THEIR WILLINGNESS TO WALK INTO ANY SITUATION, NO MATTER THE RISK. THE FIRE CHIEFS OF OAK GROVE AND SILICON VEGA STOOD SIDE BY SIDE MONDAY AS THEY REMEMBERED HELICOPTER PILOT MORGAN AND NURSE ADAM RUSSELL. THE TWO DIED WHEN THEIR LIFESAVER FOR MEDICAL HELICOPTER FROM SYLACAUGA CRASHED LATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON IN NORTHERN SHELBY COUNTY. THEY WERE RESPONDING TO A HIKER HAVING DIFFICULTY BREATHING. YOU GET THAT THAT PHONE CALL THAT, HEY, LIFESAVER FOR JUST CRASHED OFF OF 280 AND CHELSEA. IT’S THAT IS THAT SINKING FEELING YOU KNOW THAT THAT PIT IN YOUR STOMACH. DAN WORKED AS ASSISTANT FIRE CHIEF OF THE OAK GROVE FIRE DEPARTMENT SEVERAL YEARS AGO. THE FIRE CHIEF SAYS THE LOSS IS HARD TO PUT INTO WORDS. ANYBODY THAT INTERACTED WITH MORE NEWS BUT WAS REALLY GOOD GUY WHO JUST DOWN TO EARTH GENERALLY A JUST A GREAT GUY TO HANG OUT WITH, BE AROUND. RUSSELL WORKED WITH THE SYLACAUGA FIRE DEPARTMENT ON A PART TIME BASIS FOR MORE THAN 15 YEARS. YOU KNOW, OF COURSE, HE WAS A GREAT PARAMEDIC, A GREAT FIREFIGHTER, SERVED THE CITIZENS DAY IN AND DAY OUT. BUT EVEN ABOVE AND BEYOND THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU HEAR THE STORIES OF OF YOU KNOW, HE WAS A GREAT PERSON. FIRST RESPONDERS NOW FACE THE DIFFICULT TASK OF TRYING TO MOVE FORWARD WITHOUT TWO OF THEIR BELOVED COLLEAGUES. IT’S HARD TO PUT IT IN THE BACK OF YOUR MIND AND DO YOUR JOB, BUT THAT’S WHAT WE’RE TRYING TO DO. SO WE DO IT. WE WE KEEP GOING. AND SOME MORE SAD NEWS TO PASS ALONG TO YOU THIS EVENING. THE HIKER THAT THOSE HELICOPTER CREW MEMBERS WERE TRYING TO RESCUE ENDED UP PASSING AWAY LATER ON. AS FOR THE THIRD CREWMEMBER ABOARD THE HELICOPTER, SHE IS SAID TO BE IN STABLE CONDITION TONIGHT. THE NTSB HAS BEEN CALLED IN TO PIECE TOGETHER EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED LIVE IN SYLACAUGA