Traffic Helicopter Crash Kills 2, Injures 1
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A traffic helicopter spiraled out of control and crashed during a broadcast Monday, killing two of three people aboard seconds after viewers saw live, spinning pictures from the whirling aircraft.
The accident, which killed a reporter and the pilot and seriously injured a cameraman, occurred just two weeks after WTLV-TV began live traffic reports.
The reporter who was killed, Julie Ann Silvers, 26, had finished her report when she seemed to gasp, said producer Mary Johnson, who said Silvers then uttered her last words: “Uh, we’ll check on that condition.”
Pilot William Buddy Smith, 34, died in the crash, and cameraman Brett C. Snyder, 22, was in serious condition at a hospital, Green said.
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