Drunk driver causes $500K of damage crashing into ‘historic’ helicopter that flew in Vietnam

Drunk driver causes $500K of damage crashing into ‘historic’ helicopter that flew in Vietnam and Desert Storm and was put on display by veteran’s charity

  • South Carolina Highway Patrol tweeted footage of the damaged Cobra Attack 
  • The military aircraft, named Annie, had been left in a parking lot in Columbia 
  • Police say it was hit in the early hours of December 14 by Thomas Anderson, 37
  • He ‘thought he was on the expressway by the airport not a parking lot’, cops said
  • The helicopter is used by a non profit started by retired military leaders in 1999
  •  ‘I cried when I heard about it’, Purple Heart recipient Stephen Seymour said 

A drunk driver caused half a million dollars worth of damage after crashing into a military helicopter that flew in Vietnam and Desert Storm and was later used by a veteran’s charity, according to police. 

South Carolina Highway Patrol tweeted footage of the Cobra Attack after the motorist hit the aircraft, named Annie, which had been left in a parking lot in Columbia. 

The crash happened in the early hours of December 14. The driver, named as Thomas Andrew Anderson, 37, of Harrisburg, North Carolina, was arrested for DUI. There were no injuries.

He ‘thought he was on the expressway by the airport when they were really in a parking area’, according to Trooper David. Anderson is said to have told police that he ‘consumed way too much alcohol’. 

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South Carolina Highway Patrol tweeted footage of the damaged Cobra Attack. The military aircraft, named Annie, had been left in a parking lot in Columbia

Police say it was hit in the early hours of December 14 by Thomas Anderson, 37. He 'thought he was on the expressway by the airport not a parking lot', cops said

Police say it was hit in the early hours of December 14 by Thomas Anderson, 37. He ‘thought he was on the expressway by the airport not a parking lot’, cops said

The helicopter is used by a non profit started by retired military leaders in 1999. 'I cried when I heard about it', Purple Heart recipient Stephen Seymour said

The helicopter is used by a non profit started by retired military leaders in 1999. ‘I cried when I heard about it’, Purple Heart recipient Stephen Seymour said

Used by the Celebration Freedom Foundation (CFF), a charity started by retired military leaders in 1999, the helicopter had been seen 100,000 students in visits to 150 local schools since 2014.  

Stephen Seymour, executive director of CFF, said: ‘He hit the aircraft and steered off the landing gear that she sits on.’

Two-time Purple Heart recipient Seymour told WLTX: ‘Annie served in the United State’s army from 1967 to 2001.

‘She did five years in Vietnam. She did the Persian Gulf war and she got taken out by a drunk driver. 

‘It’s going to take a lot of hard work from our veterans and our volunteers and it’s going to take a lot of resources to put this aircraft back into the condition where I can get her back out there doing her job.’

He added: ‘I cried when I heard about it. Annie means so much to the students that she has inspired and the veterans that maintain her.’  

The aircraft had been on display in front of the office building at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport, the CFC said in a release.   

Lori Wicker, director of the CFF STEM Program, added: ‘My heart hurts so bad because of all the hard work that everyone has put into this aircraft.

‘It just brings back so much emotions with our Veterans who have served. They brought their grand kids to see these. 

‘They don’t make these anymore. These are our history.’

South Carolina Highway Patrol tweeted footage of the Cobra Attack

South Carolina Highway Patrol tweeted footage of the Cobra Attack

Used by the Celebration Freedom Foundation, a charity started by retired military leaders in 1999, the helicopter had been seen 100,000 students in visits to 150 local schools since 2014

Used by the Celebration Freedom Foundation, a charity started by retired military leaders in 1999, the helicopter had been seen 100,000 students in visits to 150 local schools since 2014

Narrating a clip of the damaged helicopter Trooper David states: ‘This is what an impaired driver has done to a multimillion-dollar aircraft. Make sure you have a plan in place if you plan to consume alcohol and for heaven’s sake, don’t be like this guy.’

He tweeted: ‘Sober or slammer! The driver who wrecked into this helicopter was arrested for DUI! This holiday season, drink responsibly!!!!!!!! 

‘It was sitting in a parking lot at the end of a dead end driveway…..Drink driver thought they were on the expressway by the airport when they were really in a parking area.’  

 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk