In the aftermath of Sunday’s liberty helicopter crash which happened on East River, New York, it’s the ones left behind who are now suffering. One such case is the family of Tristan Hill. An accomplished basketball player from
Reno, Nevada, he died at 29 in the crash. He was going to be married in May to his fiancee, Eda ozman. He had worked at Westchester Knicks and had his basketball camp. Before the sudden end to his life, he was running a sightseeing company based in New York. His brother, Brendan Hill, on Tuesday bitterly recriminated the city’s medical examiner’s office. He said that the office of the city examiner, Barbara Sampson, refused to let his devastated family see Tristan’s body. According to him, they wanted to give a photo for identification purposes only. Tristan’s parents apparently had to fight for a long time before they were allowed to view his body.
Brendan also lashed out against the pilot’s comments on the accident. He labeled it as insensitive to say that one of the victims caused the accident. Richard Vance, the pilot, was reported to have given his views on the cause of the accident in his statement to police. Apparently, he suggested that one of the copter passengers may have unknowingly hit an electronic switch that shut off the fuel supply to the helicopter. As Brendan sees it that was highly insensitive to him and it should not have gone down like that at all. As he spoke, he told of how upset the family is that the pilot was the only survivor. He, however, said that they are trying to get over it.
Brendan still had questions about how it all could have happened. He’s been quoted as saying “there were two EMT qualified firemen on board and I don’t understand how he couldn’t get out.”
Tristan spoke of his pain because he was writing a speech for the wedding and now he’ll be writing a eulogy. That is a devastating turn of events that no one could ever prepare you for. According to the grieving brother, his family is trying to cope. He also said that Eda’s side of the family had been shattered. He’s reported as saying that although it’s easy to pin the blame on someone else, it really won’t get them anywhere. The family of Tristan is anxiously awaiting news from the Euro copter’s AS350’s black box. The city medical examiner’s office has made no immediate comment.
