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A memorial service to honor slain Deputy U.S. Marshal Thomas M. “Tommy” Weeks Jr. is being held on Monday at Bojangles Coliseum. Weeks was killed serving a warrant on a … Click to Continue »
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Tag: Charlotte police shooting
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TV meteorologist, pilot die in news helicopter crash
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RALEIGH, N.C. — A helicopter pilot and a meteorologist who worked for a North Carolina television station died Tuesday when a news helicopter crashed along a Charlotte-area interstate, with police praising the pilot for heroically avoiding the roadway in his final moments.
Meteorologist Jason Myers and pilot Chip Tayag were identified as the people killed in the crash in a statement by WBTV — and by coworkers who’d been reporting on the crash live from the station’s studio.
Fighting back tears, anchors Jamie Boll and Molly Grantham mourned their colleagues while providing updates during a broadcast that carried on uninterrupted for hours. They included witness reports that Tayag prevented the helicopter from crashing onto Interstate-77 during a busy week of holiday travel.
“Jamie and I are learning it here as our newsroom is learning it and trying to figure it out while deeply grieving …,” Grantham said during the broadcast. “We’re giving the news and we’re all — all — of our WBTV family grieving Chip and Jason because we love them.”
The Robinson R44 helicopter crashed shortly after noon local time with two people on board, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. The Mecklenburg County EMS Agency said the two were pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said that no vehicles on the ground were involved in the crash, which still snarled traffic on the major highway.
“The pilot is a hero in my eyes,” tweeted Johnny Jennings, chief of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. “Witnesses indicated that the pilot made diversionary moves away from the highway to save lives. Because of his heroic acts, there were no further injuries or vehicles on the highway involved in the incident.”
The chief also told reporters: “We’re looking at going into the holiday season where we’re supposed to be spending time with our loved ones. And tragically, there are two people involved in this crash that will not be going home and will not be spending the holidays with their family.”
Anchors Boll and Grantham spent at least 90 minutes providing live coverage before halting to confirm the deaths of Myers and Tayag, having made sure their families were notified.
“The words are hard to come by folks, we’ve been holding on to this for a while,” Boll said, his voice wavering before he cleared his throat.
Boll had seen Tayag at 11 a.m. Tuesday morning as the pilot sat in the helicopter, preparing to pick up Myers, the meteorologist.
“Those smiles you see right there on your screen, those are those two people,” Boll said from the anchor desk.
“Every single day in this newsroom, Chip would wave at you say hello, ask you how you’re doing. He’d wave from behind the pilot’s chair of the helicopter,” Boll said. “Jason Myers — I could go on and on. He would bound through this newsroom with incredible energy and smiles and just cared about everybody here.”
Myers was raised in North Carolina’s Union and Catawba counties and worked in the city of Raleigh, and in Texas and Virginia before returning to the Charlotte area where he grew up, WBTV said. He and his wife Jillian have four children.
Tayag had been a pilot for more than 20 years, the station said. He began working for WBTV in 2017 and celebrated his three-year wedding anniversary in August, according to his Instagram page.
Gov. Roy Cooper offered his condolences to the station and the North Carolina press corps at large.
“This is a terrible tragedy for the WBTV family and we are praying for them and all of those in the media who work so hard to keep the public informed,” Cooper wrote in a tweet.
The National Transportation Safety Board will lead an investigation into the crash along with the FAA.
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Finley reported from Norfolk, Va.
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LaMelo Ball sprains left ankle in Hornets loss to Wizards
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte Hornets All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball sprained his left ankle in the third quarter of a preseason 116-107 loss to the Washington Wizards on Monday night when his foot was stepped on while he was driving to the basket.
Ball was driving the left side of the lane when Washington’s Anthony Gill inadvertently stepped on Ball’s foot, causing the third-year pro’s ankle to twist awkwardly.
Ball remained on the floor for several minutes before getting to his feet and gingerly walking to the free throw line. He shot two free throws, then immediately checked out of the game and headed straight to the locker room.
He is expected to undergo more tests on Tuesday.
“Fingers crossed that it is not something serious,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said.
Clifford said Ball and center Mason Plumlee, who sprained his left foot in the game and also left early, won’t play in Wednesday night’s preseason game at Philadelphia.
Ball is considered the centerpiece of the Hornets’ offense, averaging 20.1 points, 7.6 assists and 6.7 rebounds per game last season.
Ball had nine points and six rebounds before leaving the game.
Kristaps Porzingis had 20 points to lead the Wizards, who received some good news before the game that Bradley Beal cleared the league’s health and safety protocol, but was out with a non-COVID illness.
Terry Rozier led the Hornets with 24 points on 8 of 13 shooting, including making all but one of his four 3-pointers.
76ERS 113, CAVALIERS 97
Tyrese Maxey continued his sharp preseason play scoring 19 points to lead Philadelphia to a win in Cleveland.
Maxey, who surpassed 20 points in the Sixers first two games, was 6 of 14, including 3 of 5 from outside the arc. Tobias Harris had 12 points and seven rebounds. James Harden finished with 11 points, six rebounds and four assists. Harden, like Harris and Maxey, played 24 minutes as Philadelphia remained undefeated in three preseason games.
Jarrett Allen led the Cavaliers with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Darius Garland added 17 points and seven assists in 31 minutes. Caris LeVert finished with 13 points, while Donovan Mitchell had 11 points and five rebounds in the latest look at Cleveland’s Garland-Mitchell backcourt.
While the game featured two teams with strong hopes for a postseason run in the Eastern Conference, neither was at full strength. Center Joel Embiid sat out the game for the Sixers, as did Montrezl Harrell, suffering from an intercostal strain.
Meanwhile, Evan Mobley continued to be out of action for the Cavaliers after suffering an ankle injury, and Kevin Love didn’t play because of a sore knee.
HEAT 118, ROCKETS 110
Max Strus scored 24 points as Miami rested a lot of its key players in a home win over Houston.
Jamal Cain, Nikola Jovic and Dru Smith all scored 15 points.
Duncan Robinson had 14 points for the Heat as Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro were among those taking the night off.
Jalen Green led the Rockets with 25 points and five assists, while Kevin Porter Jr. had 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Tari Eason finished with 17 points and Kenyon Martin Jr. had 13.
NUGGETS 107, SUNS 105
Ish Smith scored 17 points, including the go-ahead 20-foot jumper with 8.9 seconds left as Denver beat visiting Phoenix.
Smith had tied the game at 105 converting an 18-footer with 39 seconds remining. Duane Washington Jr. of Phoenix had a chance for the win, but his 3-point attempt in the closing seconds was off the mark.
Bones Hyland had 16 points for Denver before leaving in the third quarter with a lower leg sprain. Bruce Brown finished with 12 points.
Devin Booker led the Suns with 20 points, and Deandre Ayton finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds, converting 9 of 12 shots.
Mikal Bridges had 14 for Phoenix.
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More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports
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