Remembering those who lost their lives in copter crash

Four people were killed late Wednesday night when their Air Angels medevac helicopter crashed near Eola Road in far east Aurora. The victims:

Kirstin Blockinger

Born two months premature with a host of medical problems, life was going to be hard for 14-month-old Kirstin Blockinger.

But the little girl's family was determined to not let that happen, friends say.

"Kirstin had a real bad situation," said Barbara Tuttle. "Her parents had a lot to face, but they were doing it."

Tuttle attends church with Kirstin's parents, Rob and Brooke, in the tiny hamlet of Leland, about five miles west of Sandwich. Her family also lives near the little girl's grandparents who have been friends for many years.

Tuttle said Kirstin had been diagnosed with failure to thrive, which is a medical phrase for stunted growth over an extended period of time. She also was being medicated for seizures, which left her lethargic and docile, Tuttle said.

Kirstin spent much of her short life going back and forth between hospital stays at Winfield's Central DuPage Hospital. Brooke and Rob Blockinger would leave their older son, Collin, with grandparents, Pat and Glenn.

"I have a grandson that is Collin's age who lives out of state and I've loved to watch little Collin grow because I know that's what my grandson is doing," Tuttle said.

She said Kirstin's young parents also dealt with Rob Blockinger's deployment to Iraq a year ago. She said he was redeployed recently, but returned shortly thereafter when word was sent that Kirstin was struggling again.

"They have a really strong family support," Tuttle said. "Rob's sister, Sarah, was always there to help out, too."

The small rural Methodist church in Leland recently held fundraisers for the family to help offset some of the costs of Kirstin's care, Tuttle said.

"I don't think any of us can comprehend what that family is going through," she said. "To have her life ended this way along with three others is a real tragedy."

- Jake Griffin

Delbert Waugh

Like the helicopters he adored, Delbert Waugh of Carmel, Ind., was at home in the skies.

"It was his passion. He wasn't happy unless he was flying," his son, Brad Waugh, said.

By the end of his week off as a pilot with Air Angels, Del, as his friends called him, was champing at the bit to return. The pilots, who transport people to hospitals, work 12-hour shifts seven days at a time, every other week.

"By the end of that week (off) he was antsy and ready to get back," his son said.

When the helicopter he was piloting crashed Wednesday night, it was his second consecutive weekly rotation: he was covering for a pilot who had quit.

Such a heavy workload isn't surprising in light of a lifetime of daily experience in helicopters, Brad Waugh said.

Flying was part of his father's psyche. He spent an entire career piloting helicopters for the Army, including stints in Vietnam. And when he retired from the military about 15 years ago as a U.S. Army colonel, it didn't take him long to launch a second career - flying medical transport choppers.

Even his 69th birthday, celebrated earlier this year, provided him no reason to step away from the job he adored. He'd recently passed his physical and the FAA cleared him to fly for another six years.

"As long as the FAA would let him fly, he had no intentions of stopping or slowing down," Brad Waugh said.

His father was extremely safe, and extremely thorough, he said. The only time he ever was involved in a crash was in Vietnam, when his helicopter took gunfire and was forced to land.

Brad Waugh said his father was the sort of man who always thought about how he could help others.

"Anybody who needed help he did everything in his power to do it," he said.

- Catherine Edman

Ron Battiato

Ron Battiato of Peotone had been a firefighter/paramedic for about 20 years in the South suburbs.

But family members said his true calling came about 10 months ago when he signed on with Air Angels as an in-flight paramedic.

"It was a perfect fit for him," said sister-in-law and family spokeswoman Maureen Erdman. "His ability to save people's lives under those tense circumstances is what made him special."

Battiato was serving in that role when he was killed in Wednesday's crash.

Assistant Fire Chief Larry Nardoni of South Chicago Heights, where Battiato, 41, worked full-time for the past year, said there was no one better to have working in clutch situations.

"Ron was the greatest with critical-care patients; that was his forte," Nardoni said. "He could stand above most paramedics in those situations."

Nardoni said Battiato also was the guy he could count on to take recruits under his wing.

"A lot of my guys are young here so they're going through something they've never experienced before involving someone they're close with," he said. "It's a bad day for the fire service in Illinois."

Battiato, a motorcycle enthusiast, also was an active member of the Red Knights Motorcycle Club, a fraternity of firefighters who ride together and promote motorcycle safety.

In his hometown of Peotone, where he worked for 10 years, Fire Chief William Schreiber said he never worked with a more conscientious and dedicated firefighter.

"Ron could be quick with a joke but when it came time to do business, he was ready for business," he said.

Schreiber said he was meeting with other Peotone fire officials Thursday to determine how they could help the Battiato family.

"We want to do something to make sure his wife and children are taken care of," Schreiber said. "They're all part of this family."

Erdman said family members, including Battiato's wife, Michelle, and six children, the youngest of whom is 4 months old, were choosing to keep their personal memories of Battiato private. She also said the family was grieving for the families of the other victims.

"Those that know him already know everything we could say," she said, "but the family would like Ron to be remembered as a dedicated fireman and a phenomenal father and family man."

- Justin Kmitch

William Mann

William Mann of Chicago started as a paramedic, then tried his hand as a police officer, but finally settled on nursing.

Whatever Mann did to draw a paycheck during his young life, helping others was always the constant, his family said.

"He was amazing," his cousin Lauren Phillips said. "Most of his adult life he was helping people or doing things to save people. He really dedicated himself to saving lives."

The Arlington Heights woman was one of scores of friends and family streaming through Mann's mother's Harwood Heights home Thursday. Mann was his mother Arlette's middle child and only son. She said his two sisters had flown in from Maine and Arizona after learning of their 31-year-old brother's death.

"He and his sisters are so tight," Phillips said.

Members of his work family at Air Angels in Bolingbrook also were mourning the loss of their "brother."

"It's a very tight-knit company, like a family," said Michael Dermont, the company's director of business development. "All the employees knew each other and this particular crew were big-hearted, genuine, funny individuals."

Mann was known as Billy to his family. Phillips said her cousin would tease her and playfully pick on her when they were growing up.

"He had a great sense of humor and it's really hard to come up with all the wonderful things about him with all that's going on, but he really was so amazing," she said.

Prior to moving back to the Chicago area and working with Air Angels, Mann had been a traveling emergency room nurse. He had done long stints at Los Angeles and Houston hospitals, Phillips said.

"We heard he was supposed to have an interview today in Evanston to start work at a hospital there," Phillips said.

- Jake Griffin