A 7-year-old girl survived a plane crash in Kentucky on Friday night that left four people dead. Authorities say the girl was able to walk away from the wreckage and report the crash.
The Piper PA-34 plane reported engine trouble and lost contact with air traffic control as it flew over southwest Kentucky around 5:55 pm, according to People.
At about 6:30 pm, a Lyon County resident called 911, telling the dispatcher that a young girl walked to his home and said she was involved in a plane crash, according to Sgt. Dean Patterson of Kentucky State Police.
[quote text_size=”small” author=”– Larry Wilkins” author_title=”Lyon County resident”]
The little girl come to my door. She was bleeding pretty bad, her legs were bleeding, her face had a bloody nose… She told me that her mom and dad were dead, and she was in a plane crash and the plane was upside down.
[/quote]
The girl walked three-quarters of a mile in the cold and dark to find the nearest residence. She was in emotional distress and taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, at which point authorities began searching for the crash site, according to the Huffington Post.
The crash site was found about two hours later in a wooded area near Kentucky Lake. Four bodies were discovered, including three passengers and the pilot. The FAA said the plane took off from Tallahassee Regional Airport in Florida and was headed to Mount Vernon, Illinois.
The victims were identified as Marty Gutzler, 49; Kimberly Gutzler, 45; daughter Piper Gutzler, 9; and Piper’s cousin Sierra Wilder, 14. The girl was the daughter of the two adults in the accident, which also killed her sister and cousin, according to NBC News.
