A wedding turned tragic after the bride and groom boarded a helicopter that crashed in rural Georgia.
The groom, identified as 25-year-old Dave Fiji, and the pilot were killed after the helicopter they were on went down Friday evening in Dawson County, Georgia, according to WSB-TV. The bride, identified as Jessni, reportedly survived the crash and is expected to be released from a local hospital in the coming days.
The groom’s father, George, told WSB-TV: “He was a precious child, he was a gift from God for us.”
The couple boarded the helicopter after their wedding and were heading to Peachtree-DeKalb Airport, WSB-TV reports. George told the outlet his son, who was also a pilot, was worried about the fog and rainy weather that evening.
“He said I wouldn’t fly, we would not fly in this visibility,” he said of his son.
The helicopter crashed shortly after takeoff in a rural, wooded area. The bride, who sustained bruises and cuts, was stuck in the wreckage for hours, George told WSB-TV.
“She said when she woke up, she was under the rubble,” he said. “She woke up and saw him lying on her chest. She herself is a nurse. When she touched him, she called out to him. He was already cold.”
Prestige Helicopters, an Atlanta-based company, owned the helicopter involved in the crash. Andy Whitaker, the director of operations for Prestige Helicopters, told WTOC the incident was unprecedented and that the company kept a spotless flying record for decades.
The pilot, who has not been publicly identified, had taken that same route several times, he added. The Independent has requested comment from Prestige Helicopters.
A spokesperson for the Dawson County Sheriff’s Department told The Independent the agency was dispatched Friday to a “possible downed helicopter,” but did not provide additional details. The Independent has also requested comment from the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash.
The groom’s mother, Pheba Fiji, told WSB-TV she saw a “special glow and glory” in her son’s face during the wedding.
“Both of them told us they could sense the presence of God at the altar, a tangible presence of God,” she said.
