OCEANA COUNTY -- One man is dead and another is in the hospital after a helicopter crash in Oceana County Saturday.
Authorities tell 7&4 News that the helicopter went down at around 3:30pm Saturday in a remote, wooded area known as Tanner's swamp, near Walkerville.
The helicopter was being flown by 49 year-old Thomas Slocum from Hart, who died at the scene. His passenger, 28 year-old Matt Williams from Hart is currently listed in fair condition at a Grand Rapids Hospital.
After the crash, Williams was able to call 911, but it took responders nearly an hour to get to the crash site because of the difficult terrain. Rescue crews had to walk across two streams of knee-deep water and navigate through trees and logs to reach the crash site. Then, they had to carry both victims more than 1,000 feet to reach the nearest road 168th Ave, which was nearly 2 miles away.
The cause of the crash is not known at this time.
