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Coroner IDs woman killed in Butler County crash, where dispatched CareFlight made ‘hard landing’

MILFORD — A CareFlight medical helicopter experienced a ‘hard landing’ while trying to land at the scene of a Butler County vehicle crash that killed a Richmond, Indiana, woman and left three others injured.

The vehicle crash involving two pickup trucks on U.S. 127 at Eaton Road in Milford Twp. occurred about 4 a.m. Tuesday. The township is about 10 miles north of Hamilton.

The Butler County Coroner’s Office identified a passenger thrown from one of the trucks as 69-year-old Marsha Cottongim. She was pronounced dead at the scene, Sheriff Richard Jones said in a media release. A front-seat passenger in the same truck, identified only as a 43-year-old woman, was pinned inside the wreckage and suffered serious injuries.

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Two other people in the first pickup truck also suffered minor injuries and were taken to an area hospital. The driver of the other truck was not injured.

The medical helicopter was called to the scene to transport the woman who was seriously injured. Just before 5 a.m., the helicopter crashed while trying to land, injuring all three crew members, Jones said. The crew members were also taken to a hospital with injuries described as non-life threatening.

Wednesday afternoon, a spokesperson for Premier Health said the crew members have been treated and released.

The woman who was seriously injured was not on board CareFlight when it crashed, a Premier Health spokesperson said in a statement.

A preliminary investigation of the helicopter crash found that it contacted power lines, sending the helicopter to the ground in the “hard landing.”

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The identities of the other people involved in the vehicle crash have not been released pending notification of family and further investigation.

The vehicle crash is being investigated by the sheriff’s office. The Federal Aviation Administration will be tasked with investigating the helicopter crash.

We will continue to update this story as we learn more.

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