Thud,  Thud - I still hear this sickening sound as I watch 2 brightly liveried TV JetCopters drop from the sky.  I don't think I've ever experience such a sick sensation as watching these helicopters violently plummeting into Steele Indian School Park,  most likely occupied by people that I probably knew from watching local news.  I already knew that anyone on either of the helicopters was already gone,  or would be momentarily. 

Let me step back - When I'm fortunate enough to be in Phoenix (which is all too seldom) my office is located @ 3rd st. and Earll,  about a 10 minute walk from the Steele Indian School Park (and directly up 3rd St.).  When I'm working in the Phoenix Office,  I rarely leave my desk,  let alone the building.  In fact the last time I left the building for lunch was a couple of months ago,  when I had lunch with my "Pal" Linda.  Because a.) the weather was bearable today (high 90's) and b.) I've been (so far successfully) committed to get more healthy,  I decided to walk down to the Chinese Restaurant 1/2 way between my office and the park and get something light for lunch.  As I'm walking towards the restaurant,  I notice that there are 4 news helicopters hovering over our neighborhood.  This is something you see all the time in Phoenix,  we're a big city,  very spread out,  and one of the most competitive news markets in the country.  What does catch my attention is that it appears that 2 of the copters are very close to each other.  I figure it's just forced perspective,  and continue to walk... a few seconds later,  I hear the bangs,  and the two helicopters (or what was left of them) were falling from the sky. 

I stood there for what seemed an hour,  but it couldn't have been more than a minute.  I had just seen people dying,  something I've never seen.  I had such a deep pain in the pit of my stomach,  it's a feeling I think I'll remember all my life.  Turns out there were 4 men,  two in each helicopter,  that perished in this accident.  I can say that they couldn't have suffered,  the crash was extremely violent,  and the photos show that there was very little left of the copters by the time they came to a violent stop in Steele Indian School Park. 

Apparently they were following a high speed chase right by my building,  which apparently I missed by seconds.  This pathetic moron proceeded to barricade himself in some building for 3 hours after he had indirectly murdered 4 innocent victims,  and had caused damage to a number of other vehicles.  The early word is that it's very ikely that murder charges will be filed against this idiot,  in that the deaths can be linked to the commission of a felony.  Seems like a stretch,  but in this instance,  I hope I"m wrong. 


The Crew of NewsCopter 3 with Az.
Diamondbacks Legend Luis Gonzales