Crashed med-flight included Vietnam veteran, fire department Lieutenant, nurse and Guardsman's infant

Families mourn chopper crash victims

Relatives of 1-year-old Kirstin Blockinger held hands, wiped away tears and placed a teddy bear and a bouquet of pink roses at the crash site today before examining debris, which still contained large pieces of the helicopter.



The family of Kirstin Blockinger, the year-old child who was being airlifted to Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago when the medical chopper went down, went to the crash site this afternoon.

Around 4:30 p.m., 11 relatives of 1-year-old Kirstin held hands and wiped away tears.

Kirstin's mother, Brooke Blockinger, carried a teddy bear and a bouquet of pink roses, which she left at the site.

The family did not take questions, but Kirstin's grandfather, Steve Ogletree, read from a prepared statement.

"We love Kirstin and we celebrate her life, however short," he said, adding that the family was asking for privacy "to mourn our loss."

Brooke was comforted by her husband, Robert, as the family disappeared through a field to examine the crash site, which still contained large pieces of the helicopter.

Earlier today, Bill and Arlette Mann stood outside their Norridge home talking to reporters and neighbors about their son, William J. Mann, Jr., 31, a registered nurse who perished on the Air Angels flight in Aurora.

While his parents spoke, a car pulled up carrying their daughters, Wendy and Tracy, who had just flown in from opposite ends of the country to mourn the loss of their brother.

"Oh, girls, we lost something special," Bill Mann said, overcome with emotion as the family embraced in tears. Wendy, who lives in Maine, told her father that "Billy" was her best friend.

The crushing loss was tinged with irony, they said, because Mann had a scheduled a second interview today for a job at Evanston Hospital, a career move prompted in part by other recent accidents involving emergency medical flights. At age 31, he had decided it was time to look for a safer job, the family said.

Maj. Brad Leighton, spokesman for the Illinois National Guard, confirmed that Kirstin's father was on active duty in the National Guard, and had been training for deployment to Afghanistan at Ft. Riley in Kansas.

Also on the flight were pilot Delbert Waugh, a 69-year-old Army veteran who had been shot down multiple times flying helicopters in Vietnam, according to his boss at Air Angels.

The fourth victim was paramedic Ronald Battiato, a former Peotone Fire Department lieutenant. Battiato was the father of six, including a newborn.

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