'Miracle' survivor: Girl walks away from plane crash - USA TODAY

Video Keywords Mount Vernon Key West Florida nonlife threatening injuries Chandler Emergency crews Nashville Illinois Florida

Police say a 7-year-old girl survived a small-plane crash in Kentucky that killed her parents, sister and cousin. Linda So reports.

Video Transcript

Automatically Generated Transcript (may not be 100% accurate)

00:01 Emergency crews respond to the scene of a small plane
00:04 crashing Kentucky late Friday. Police say a seven year old girl
00:07 was the only survivor her parents sister and cousin were killed
00:11 in the crash. The girl managed to walk away from the
00:14 wreckage and knock on strangers store for help. And relax and
00:18 over. Little girl about seven a year ago. Chandler burden. On
00:25 the face. Larry Wilkins called 911 after the girl told him
00:29 her mom and dad were dead and the plane was upside
00:32 down brands or. She's off ever known or both parents are
00:37 gone the plane went down in the heavily wooded area about
00:40 115 miles northwest of Nashville. Police say it was flying from
00:44 Key West, Florida to Mount Vernon Illinois. Got an eight year
00:48 old child myself just turned eight years old little girl and
00:51 and when I saw this this. It appears to be said
00:56 in your old child that had walked through this this dance
01:00 worse and there's some really tough trains and awfully poor weather
01:06 conditions tonight. And survive is I mean it's just really a
01:09 miracle. The girl was taken to the hospital for nonlife threatening
01:13 injuries the cause of the crash is under investigation.

Kentucky State Promo(Photo: Shane Music)

2853 CONNECT 4 LINKEDIN EMAILMORE

A 7-year-old girl miraculously survived a plane crash that killed four members of her family, managing to walk to a nearby residence to ask for help, police said.

About a half-hour after a small plane lost contact with air-traffic controllers Friday evening, a Lyon County, Ky., homeowner called 911 saying a young girl had found her way to his house, where she asked for help after being in a plane crash, according to Kentucky State Police. The girl was taken to an area hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and released Saturday.

"This girl came out of the wreckage herself and found the closest residence and reported the plane crash," said Sgt. Dean Patterson of the Kentucky State Police. "It's a miracle in a sense that she survived it, but it's tragic that four others didn't."

The homeowner, Larry Wilkins, told CNN the young girl had to trek three-quarters of a mile in the dark through what he described as "very, very rough territory," with fallen trees, creeks and ditches in her way. Wilkins told CNN the girl faintly knocked on his door, and was barefoot except for one sock, and dressed in shorts with no coat.

"She's a terribly brave little girl, I'll tell you that," Wilkins told the channel. "I can't imagine a 7-year-old doing that."

Police found the wreckage of the plane — a Piper PA-34 — in a heavily wooded area. The FAA said the plane had taken off from Tallahassee Regional Airport in Florida and was bound for Mount Vernon, Ill. The pilot reported engine trouble before losing contact with air traffic around 5:55 p.m. CT.

Police identified the four victims of the crash as Marty Gutzler, 49; Kimberly Gutzler, 45; their daughter, 9-year-old Piper Gutzler; and her cousin, 14-year-old Sierra Wilder — all from Nashville, Ill. The 7-year-old who survived is the daughter of Marty Gutzler and Kimberly Gutzler. Her name is being withheld at the request of her family, police said.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, and a team from the FAA arrived at the site Saturday. Investigators with the the National Transportation Safety Board were expected to arrive later Saturday.

Contributing: The Associated Press

2853 CONNECT 4 LINKEDIN EMAILMORE

Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1I6EZab

Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1F0uBEE