May 13, 2008 2:49 pm US/Central
Patient On Wis. Helicopter That Crashed Later Died
MADISON, Wis. (AP) ―
The patient transported by a Med Flight helicopter that later crashed died hours after arriving at a La Crosse hospital, a coroner said Tuesday.
The elderly woman died early Sunday after suffering bleeding in her brain, Crawford County Coroner Joe Morovitz said.
The University of Wisconsin Hospital Med Flight helicopter crashed Saturday night on the way home to Madison after dropping the woman off at Gundersen Lutheran hospital. A doctor, nurse and pilot on board were killed.
The National Transportation Safety Board continued Tuesday to investigate the accident, which happened shortly after the helicopter took off from the La Crosse airport. Preliminary reports suggest the helicopter collided with a bluff or trees but the cause is unknown.
An investigator was at the airport Tuesday studying wreckage recovered from the scene, a hilly wooded area about three miles outside the city, NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway said. Laying out the recovered pieces can give clues as to what caused the accident, he said.
The patient's death adds another element of sadness to a tragedy that has devastated the medical community in Madison and beyond. Until now, authorities had released little information about the circumstances requiring the flight and what happened to the patient.
"It wasn't just the three dead on the helicopter. There was actually a fourth one," Morovitz told The Associated Press. "It was a lose-lose situation all the way around."
The woman was suffering from bleeding in her brain, possibly from a stroke or an aneurism, when she was transported from Prairie Du Chien Memorial Hospital to Gundersen Lutheran, Morovitz said.
Neither hospital would comment on the patient or the reason for the flight Tuesday. But Morovitz said the patient likely needed specialty care available only at Gundersen Lutheran.
Gundersen's medical helicopter, which would usually handle the transfer, was busy responding to a fatal car crash at the time, spokesman Chris Stauffer said. Medical officials asked UW's Med Flight program to help, and it agreed, he said.
Stauffer and UW Hospital spokeswoman Toni Morrissey said such requests for help are routine among the region's hospital systems.
Morovitz said he could not release the deceased woman's name or age because his investigation into her death was not yet complete. But he said he believes the bleeding was caused by a medical problem, and she died about 6:30 a.m. on Sunday.
Stauffer said federal law prevented him from talking about the patient.
"Everybody is just grieving for the folks at UW Health," he said. "It's a tight-knit community of people who do what they do. Here's a situation where unfortunately a worst-case scenario has become reality. Very sad."
Local authorities hosted an honor procession in La Crosse on Tuesday for hearses carrying the bodies of Dr. Darren Bean, nurse Mark Coyne and pilot Steve Lipperer. More than 20 vehicles escorted the hearses from a funeral home to Interstate 90 to head back to Madison.
The families of Bean, 37, and Lipperer, 39, announced plans for a public memorial service Thursday night in Madison.
Holloway said the NTSB hoped to release a preliminary report on the accident with additional facts later this month. Its final report won't be complete for 12 to 18 months, he said.
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