Friday, Jul. 30, 2010

North Myrtle Beach plane crash survivors struggle to move on

Pair tries to start over after losing it all

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH -- For the past two weeks, Robert Werkheiser and Sandra Freeman have been living out of plastic bags.

The friends lived at Creekside Mobile Home Park in North Myrtle Beach for about five months before a small plane crashed into their home during the night of July 14 and burst into flames. The crash killed the pilot, his wife and their 4-year-old granddaughter from North Carolina. It injured Werkheiser, Freeman and two others on the ground.

Since that day, Werkheiser and Freeman have lived at a North Myrtle Beach hotel and have spent their days searching for permanent housing, which has been difficult. Both are on disability and bring in a total of $1,200 each month, Werkheiser said.

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"If someone told me a year ago that I would be living out of a bag, moving from room to room, I would not believe them," Freeman, 58, said through tears Wednesday. "I always worried about someone running into my house, but not from the air. I close my eyes, and can still see the flames from my hair on fire. I'm very fortunate."

As Werkheiser, 38, consoled Freeman, he said "we were just fine with our bills, we didn't live above our means. Now after losing everything, we're starting from the bottom up."

The plane's impact tossed Freeman out of the recliner where she had been sitting watching TV in the home they had rented since the first of the year. Werkheiser said he was thrown into the bathtub after he had just come inside. The two of them, along with Keith Lewis Jr., who'd also had been inside watching TV, tried to escape through the back door but it was blocked by debris, Lewis said.

They were forced to go through the fire to get out the front. The blaze had ignited Freeman's hair, and as they ran, Werkheiser said he kept tamping her head to extinguish the flames.

Ronnie Bryant, who'd been outside with Werkheiser getting ready for a barbecue, suffered burns and was taken to a burn center in Augusta, Ga.

The rest were treated and released from area hospitals for injuries they suffered.

One of Freeman and Werkheiser's three dogs died in the fire. Another was found afterward. Werkheiser and Freeman learned days later that the third pet was killed by a car.

The only items Werkheiser and Freeman were able to salvage from their home were a Bible, a picture of Jesus and a couple of Freeman's figurines from her mother. Werkheiser said he cried when he realized he lost a Raiders tree ornament that his father gave to him, the only thing he had left of his dad.

Werkheiser said his and Freeman's families have been helping them in whatever way they can, but they also are on fixed incomes and do not have the room for them. Freeman's daughter is keeping their dog Skipper, Werkheiser said.

To help, the North Strand Helping Hand gave Werkheiser and Freeman a $50 Wal-Mart gift card, boxes of groceries, and clothes, they said; and the local chapter of the Red Cross put the friends up at the Super 8 hotel in North Myrtle Beach for three days. After three days, the hotel agreed to let the two stay until they can find another place.

"We felt bad," said Bobbi Passarello, general manager at the Super 8, about the friends having no where else to go after the three days. "It seemed like a short amount of time because they have no family to move in with. We agreed to help out until they find a place to stay. You have to be kind of shocked about something like that."

Passarello said the hotel also has clothes and furniture for them when they get situated.

Although they have a temporary place to lay their heads, Werkheiser and Freeman said they are not sleeping well these days due to fear from the crash and are in need of professional counseling.

"Every little noise, you're like what's that," Werkheiser said. "It's unbelievable. I've been having terrible headaches since the incident. We're trying to seek professional help.

"I have a lot of guilt, anger and depression about it, mixed emotions and the what-ifs. It's hard to cope. I feel guilty for being alive and grateful for being alive."

Despite losing their home and two of their three dogs, Werkheiser and Freeman said their hearts go out to the family of Danny Carroll, 54, Raychel Carroll, 66, and their granddaughter, Mallory Fields, who died in the crash. According to neighbors, the Carrolls had flown to North Myrtle Beach to spend a day vacationing with their daughter, her husband and three children on the beach.

"We just sat there one day and cried because of the family," said Freeman, who was supposed to baby-sit her 1-year-old granddaughter the night of the crash before her daughter decided not to take her to Freeman's home. "I wonder why God saved us and not them."

"Everyday we wake up and wonder what do we do next," Werkheiser said. "Then again, I'm happy to be alive. I don't take life for granted."