1 year later, paralyzed ex-pilot recalls helicopter crash
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — He remembers hearing the helicopter's engine whine strangely, suddenly losing power, and how his last words were "oh no" before everything turned black.
Leo Boucher woke up three days later in OhioHealth Grant Medical Center. From his chest down, he couldn't feel anything.
And a year later, he remains partially paralyzed and in a wheelchair.
Boucher, 51, was operating a tree-trimming helicopter in Logan County on the afternoon of July 29, 2014, when it crashed near Liberty Hills Golf Club. He was working for Rotor Blade of South Carolina, trimming trees on a 16-mile bike path between Urbana and Bellefontaine.
The trimming was done with a multiblade saw that was suspended below the helicopter's skids.