BSO helicopter crash: "She lit up the room with her smile," niece speaks out on aunt who died inside apartment
POMPANO BEACH - The niece of a woman who was killed when a BSO helicopter crashed into her apartment building is speaking out, saying her aunt was a kind person who loved her family.
That niece, Angela Williams, told CBS News Miami's Peter D'Oench that her 65-year-old aunt Lurean Wheaten was from South Carolina and had moved to South Florida 24 years ago.
Wheaten lost her life just before 9 a.m. when the BSO Fire Rescue helicopter had an engine fire and failure in a left engine and plummeted into her apartment building about half a mile away from the Pompano Beach Air Park.
Williams said, "She loved her family and she enjoyed people. She lit up the room with her smile. She was a really kind person and she loved people. She didn't have any children. She never married. I was like a daughter to her. We were like sisters. She was like a mother to me also. I spoke to her on Sunday and she told me to call her back on Monday."
Williams said, "She had a boyfriend she lived with for 10 years. He was in the apartment but he wasn't injured. He went out the bathroom window. He said a beam had fallen on her and he couldn't get to her. He opened the window and a fire ignited more. He made it out but he is fine."
She said, "It was shocking. She didn't do anything. She didn't go anywhere. The helicopter just went through her building. God is in control. We never know how we are going to leave. This is very shocking and hurting. But I am going to make sure she can be buried in spite of the condition of her body. She was close to her relatives and all of us. Me and her were super tight."
Williams said, "It's a shame. There are no words for this. I can't explain it. There is nothing the pilot could do. I send the victim and his family my condolences because they lost a family member too."
BSO Fire Rescue Captain Terryson Jackson, 50, a 19-year veteran, lost his life and four others were injured including two civilians on the ground, Lorenzo Snell and Terran Vandiver, and two crew members, the pilot Daron Roche and Firefighter Paramedic Michael Chaguaseda.
Michael Varin, who was a close friend of Wheaten, said that Wheaten had overcome drug addiction and had been sober for nearly 14 years.
Varin said "She had more than 13 years of sobriety and I was honored to be her sponsor and witness the miracle. She was fabulous. She was humble and she was an underdog. She was an underdog least likely to succeed and she did succeed."
Varin fought back tears as he said, "I didn't want to believe this when I saw the flames and I have been praying. But coming here confirmed it. But she is in heaven and will help others."
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash but says it will not have another update for 2 or 3 weeks.