A prominent Colusa County farmer, his wife, and two friends were killed Sunday when the helicopter they were in crashed near Colusa.
The Colusa County Sheriffs Office said the helicopter went down in a tomato field in the area of Highway 45 and Reservation Road around 1:15 PM.
William ” Bill” Bernard Vann, 67, and his wife Suzanne ” Susie” Marie Vann, 60, of Williams, were declared dead at the scene, as were Bobbie Lee Keaton, 62, also of Williams, and Charles ” Chuck” Thomas Wilson, 71, of Rocklin.
Vann was co-owner of Vann Family Orchards. The company farms about 17,000 acres of nut crops in the Sacramento Valley.
Their bodies were located inside the crashed Robinson R66 helicopter when Colusa County Sheriffs Office and Sacramento River Fire Protection District officials arrived.
All four were declared dead at the scene.
” Their passing will leave a huge hole in the fabric of our community,” Citizens for a Better Williams posted Sunday night on social media. ” We will always remember the good times we had and the laughs we shared. Remembering the good times…it’s what will get us through this. Our deepest sympathies to the families of these four dynamic people.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the crash. –