TWO DIE IN BLUFF HELICOPTER CRASH

POPLAR BLUFF -- A Missouri Highway Patrol helicopter pilot and a photographer died in a helicopter crash Friday afternoon near a busy Poplar Bluff intersection.

The two had been photographing the Special Olympic torch run through the Bootheel Monday.

The crash happened at 4:08 p.m., about an hour after a severe storm passed through Poplar Bluff.

Killed in the crash were the pilot, Sgt. David C. May, 41, of Poplar Bluff, and independent photographer Ricky Wayne Gunnels Jr., 22, of Dexter.

May was pronounced dead at the scene by Butler County Coroner Larry Cotrell. His body was taken to Cotrell Funeral Home in Poplar Bluff.

Gunnels died at 4:47 p.m. at Lucy Lee Hospital of injuries received in the crash. His body was taken to Rainey Funeral Home in Dexter.

Reports from several witness said the helicopter's tail rotor stopped working just before the aircraft crashed.

The helicopter began spinning out of control, then dropped onto a parking lot behind the Union Planter's Bank near the intersection of U.S. 67 and Sunset Boulevard in downtown Poplar Bluff. The helicopter landed upright.

Initially the crash was reported to be that of an emergency medical helicopter. When Poplar Bluff police arrived at the scene of the crash, they saw it was Highway Patrol helicopter MP77.

May is survived by his wife, Linda, and two daughters, Krista and Terralyn. He was a 17-year veteran of the Missouri Highway Patrol, appointed in 1981. He was named corporal in 1991 and sergeant in 1994. May was certified a helicopter pilot in 1997.