Memorial service held in Memphis for 3 killed in helicopter crash

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Nearly 2,000 people attended a memorial service for a pilot and two hospital workers killed in a medical helicopter crash in Tennessee.

Le Bonheur Children's Hospital officials say the memorial took place today at Hope Presbyterian Church in Memphis.

Attendees offered prayers and remembrances for 47-year-old pilot Charles Smith, 43-year-old nurse Carrie Barlow and 43-year-old respiratory therapist Denise Adams.

They died when the Hospital Wing helicopter crashed and burned while on the way to pick up an ailing child in Bolivar last Tuesday. National Transportation Safety Board investigators are working to determine the cause of the crash in Somerville, about 45 miles east of Memphis.

Emergency first-responders from West Tennessee and around the country attended the service, which included a recessional of ambulances and fire trucks.