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First hearing in lawsuit about state police deaths in helicopter crash focuses on discovery
First hearing in lawsuit about state police deaths in helicopter crash focuses on discovery
By TYLER HAMMEL The Daily Progress 1 hr ago
An Albemarle County judge will soon decide exactly how much information a defendant should provide the widows of two Virginia State Police officers who died in a helicopter crash on Aug. 12, 2017. ... The companion wrongful death lawsuits were filed in Albemarle County Circuit Court in June on behalf of Amanda Bates and Karen Cullen, whose husbands died in a helicopter crash while monitoring the aftermath of the Unite the Right rally. Named defendants include a swath of manufacturers involved with producing and maintaining the helicopter.
Unlike the women’s lawsuits filed in Richmond City Circuit Court in July, the Albemarle suits only name corporate defendants, not state entities. ... The lawsuits accuse the defendants of negligence and fraud, an allegation to which some of the defendants have filed responses since August.
Berke M.M. Bates and H. Jay Cullen were tasked with monitoring the white supremacist Unite the Right rally on Aug. 12, 2017. Footage from their helicopter recently was used as evidence in the murder trials of neo-Nazi James Alex Fields Jr. ... In the late afternoon that day, on the way to monitor then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s motorcade, their helicopter suddenly crashed, killing both men.
According to the lawsuits, the helicopter — a Bell 407 manufactured by Bell Helicopter Textron — was a “maintenance nightmare,” with a reputation for frequent repairs. These repairs would ultimately lead to the crash, the complaints argue.
....
thammel@dailyprogress.com | (434) 978-7268
By TYLER HAMMEL The Daily Progress 1 hr ago
An Albemarle County judge will soon decide exactly how much information a defendant should provide the widows of two Virginia State Police officers who died in a helicopter crash on Aug. 12, 2017. ... The companion wrongful death lawsuits were filed in Albemarle County Circuit Court in June on behalf of Amanda Bates and Karen Cullen, whose husbands died in a helicopter crash while monitoring the aftermath of the Unite the Right rally. Named defendants include a swath of manufacturers involved with producing and maintaining the helicopter.
Unlike the women’s lawsuits filed in Richmond City Circuit Court in July, the Albemarle suits only name corporate defendants, not state entities. ... The lawsuits accuse the defendants of negligence and fraud, an allegation to which some of the defendants have filed responses since August.
Berke M.M. Bates and H. Jay Cullen were tasked with monitoring the white supremacist Unite the Right rally on Aug. 12, 2017. Footage from their helicopter recently was used as evidence in the murder trials of neo-Nazi James Alex Fields Jr. ... In the late afternoon that day, on the way to monitor then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s motorcade, their helicopter suddenly crashed, killing both men.
According to the lawsuits, the helicopter — a Bell 407 manufactured by Bell Helicopter Textron — was a “maintenance nightmare,” with a reputation for frequent repairs. These repairs would ultimately lead to the crash, the complaints argue.
....
thammel@dailyprogress.com | (434) 978-7268