Crime & Safety

Ellicott City Man, Daughter Killed in Pa. Helicopter Crash

Ellicott City, Savage and Towson residents were among the five people killed in a helicopter crash saturday in Pennsylvania.

An Ellicott City man and his daughter were among the five victims of a weekend helicopter crash in Pennsylvania.

ABC7 News reported officials have identified the victims in Saturday’s crash as Bernard Michael Kelly, 58, of Ellicott City; his daughter Leanna Mee Kelly, 27, of Savage; Carl Robert Woodland, 29, of Lovettsville, Va.; his 3-year-old son Noah Robert McKain Woodland, of Leesburg, Va.; and David Ernst Jenny Jr., 30, of Towson.

Neighbor Skylar Neuworth and her family live next door to the Kellys and told reporters that they grew up with the family.

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“It’s hard. It’s really, really tragic,” Neuworth told WJZ. “We’re here for their family and I just feel really bad. It’s tragic news. They’re great people.”

A playful Facebook photo posted to Jenny's timeline on Saturday appears to show him, Carl Woodland, a young boy, and Leanna Kelly as well as unidentified man. The caption reads, "Raiding the kitchen before we head out" and is tagged at a helicopter service based in Glen Aubrey, NY.

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WJZ reported Jenny was piloting the helicopter.

The Kelly family issued a statement to the media saying, “The members of the family of Bernie Kelly and Leanna Kelly are devastated by their tragic and untimely loss, along with the loss of the other friends on board the helicopter that crashed in northeastern Pennsylvania this past weekend. We ask at this time of grieving that the media kindly respect the privacy of the Kelly family. We will therefore not provide any further statements or information at this time.”

The helicopter, a Robinson 66, was en route to Jake Arner memorial Airport in Leighton, Pa. when all communication and radar signals were lost, according to WNEP, Scranton/Wilkes Barre.

The helicopter wreckage was found in a wind farm at about 2 p.m. Sunday, according to WNEP. The pilot reported losing altitude at about 10:30 p.m. Saturday.

There were strong storms and rain in the area Saturday night.

The Baltimore Sun reported that woman who answered the phone a the Jenny house in Kintersville, Pa. and identified herself as David Jenny’s mother said she did not want to speak publicly.

"We are struggling to put one foot in front of the other," she told the Sun. "We can barely speak to each other."

This article first ran Monday afternoon and has since been updated.


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