Man Describes Helping ‘Brave’ Girl Who Survived Plane Crash
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ABC News(KUTTAWA, Ky.) — Shaking and upset, a 7-year-old girl who survived a plane crash in southwestern Kentucky that killed her parents, sister, and cousin found herself on the doorstep of Larry Wilkins’ home.
“When I answered the door, there was a bloody girl,” said Wilkins. “She said she was in a plane crash and her mom and dad were dead and the plane was upside down.”
The crash in Kuttawa, Kentucky, killed the girl’s parents, Marty and Kimberly Gutzler, her 9-year-old sister Piper, and her 14-year-old cousin Sierra Wilder, according to police. After the crash, the girl walked through dense woods for about a quarter of a mile before finding Wilkin’s house.
Wilkins described the girl as having “legs pretty scratched up and bleeding, nose bleeding, had one sock on her feet, wearing short pants.”
Wilkin said he called 911, then sat her on a couch and washed off her scratched legs.
“They seemed surprised when I said I had a 7-year-old girl here who said she was in a plane crash,” he said. “I just pray for her. She’s gonna need a lot of help. I just can’t imagine someone that young going through that, especially to witness it – to witness her parents dying. It’s amazing that she held up as good as she did.”
The girl was taken to a nearby hospital with minor injuries. The FAA and NTSB are investigating the crash.
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