Mass. man who crashed a snowmobile into a parked Black Hawk helicopter sues for $9.5M

In this photograph shared by Douglas Desjardins, a damaged Black Hawk helicopter rests on the snow on March 13, 2019.

"The last five years, there's been surgery, recovery, surgery, recovery," said Smith, who lost the use of his left arm, suffered respiratory issues since the crash, and hasn't been able to work full time."Honestly, right now, it feels like I'm in a worst place than when I first had the surgeries in 2019."A U.S. District Court judge in Springfield is expected to rule on the lawsuit later this year.

"Our argument from the beginning has been that it's incompatible to have a helicopter land on an active snowmobile trail," Smith's attorney, Douglas Desjardins, said, adding that the lawsuit was filed after the government failed to respond to their damages claim. They also argued that the court lacked jurisdiction and that the crew wasn't told that they were landing on a snowmobile trail. They also pushed back on claims they could have prevented the accident, saying there was nothing in their policies that required illuminating the helicopter.

The night of the accident, Smith said he was over at his mom's helping fix a computer. He had a beer with dinner and then another with his dad, before setting off to meet his brother, Richard Smith, on the trial. Smith drove in the dark alongside farm fields and forests before going over a ridge. His headlights reflected off"something," he said, but Smith only knew it was a helicopter after the crash.

"As soon as I heard that somebody on a snowmobile hit the helicopter, I knew it was my brother," Richard Smith said."My heart hit my stomach. I just knew it was him. I went down there and my father told me he was alive. I didn't sleep that night. I spent that night on my knees praying."

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