Helicopter crash kills 4 in Levy County, NTSB investigates

BRONSON, Fla. (WCJB) - At 8:30 Thursday night, the Levy County Sheriff’s Office got a call about a possible aircraft crash off north east 60th Lane near Wekiva Rd.

When they arrived, they discovered what remained of a family of four.

The family has been identified as 36-year-old Ronald Hicks, his wife Shelly, and their two children 8-year-old Parker and 5-year-old Jaylyn.

It’s especially difficult, sheriff’s officials said, as one of their detectives is related to the victims.

“Dealing with a tragedy such as this is very difficult, not only for the investigators that have to look into the cases but the families that this touches,” LCSO Public Information Officer, Scott Tummond said.

Just before turning onto Wekiva Rd., is the Children’s Table food bank.

TV20 spoke to the organization’s founder and aviation enthusiast, Bill Brown.

“I’ve been flying all my life and I’ve had one plane go down on me. With a helicopter when something goes wrong they come down and they do it in a hurry,” Brown said.

He said he was shocked to hear what happened.

“All that you can do is just pray for the people that went down. They were doing something that is important to them because once you get hooked on flying helicopter or fixed wing aircraft, you’re hooked for life,” Brown said.

Copyright 2021 WCJB. All rights reserved. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.