Local News
Wife of UPS Pilot Recounts Terrifying Moments After Louisville Plane Crash: “I Thought I Lost Him”
A woman who identified herself as the wife of a UPS pilot shared an emotional account of the moments following the fatal crash of UPS Flight 2976 near Louisville, Kentucky.
Speaking to a local news anchor, she revealed that her husband had been scheduled to depart Louisville around the same time as the doomed flight and that she had not received any communication from him since the incident—leaving her fearing the worst as authorities worked to identify the victims.
In a heartfelt written statement, she described the shock, fear, and helplessness she experienced as news of the crash broke:
“Your husband flies, right? Is he flying this week?”
What an odd text from my friend, I thought, as I drove my kids home from their sports activities.
“Yes,” I replied. “He’s flying right now, actually. Took off from Louisville just a short time ago.”
Then silence.
Moments later, a breaking news alert appeared on her phone — a UPS cargo plane had crashed shortly after takeoff from Louisville, with reports of multiple casualties.
“I knew from her text that she already knew something terrible had happened. For the next what felt like eternity, my heart was in my throat. My hands were shaking. I was sobbing. I thought I lost him. He’s the rock of our family — our everything. And I kept thinking, have I ever actually told him that? Why didn’t I tell him again as he left the house today?”
As panic set in, she pulled her car over with her children inside.
“Hey guys, Mommy doesn’t feel good. I just need a minute,” she told them.
Her husband’s last message, sent at 4:41 p.m., simply read: “I love you, getting ready to take off.”
“I sat there staring at that text, trying to line up when the crash happened. Not a lot of time between. Was it him? Why hasn’t he messaged me yet?” she wrote.
“Babe, can you please message me? Just need to know you’re okay,” she texted again.
As the minutes dragged on, friends and family flooded her phone with worried messages: “You okay? He’s okay, right? You’ve heard from him?”
“No. I don’t know. I can’t get ahold of him,” she recalled. “My mind was in a million places. What if that plane was his? What if his plans changed? What if?”
She replayed her last message to him — a trivial complaint about one of their children — and felt deep regret.
“Why did I waste time with that? Why didn’t I just say, ‘I love you’? I prayed. I cried. For myself, yes, but for others too. This is someone’s life — many people’s lives.”
Then came the moment that broke her: video of the crash.
“A massive fireball. Unsurvivable. Still not knowing if that’s him. I felt sick. All our plans, our sweet children, everything we’re building together — flashing before my eyes.”
She remembered her daughter’s words from just two days earlier:
“Daddy makes everything better, don’t you think?”
“Yes,” she wrote. “He does.”
After what felt like hours, she finally received the message she had been praying for: her husband had landed safely several states away.
“It wasn’t him. I could finally breathe,” she said. “But it was his colleagues.”
Her relief was mixed with profound grief for the families who would not receive that same message.
“Relief for me, yes. But this is someone’s entire world — someone’s parent, someone’s soulmate, someone’s child. Someone’s person who makes everything better. My heart breaks for them all.”
She closed her statement with a message of reflection and gratitude:
“I’m praying for the families of the at least nine souls lost — people who just went to work, kissed their loved ones goodbye, and that was it. It could be any of us. Events like this put everything in perspective. None of us is promised tomorrow. Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them, that you adore them, and that they’re your everything. Nine families don’t get that chance tonight.”
Her words capture the human toll behind the tragedy, offering a deeply personal glimpse into the fear, uncertainty, and heartbreak faced by those waiting for news in the aftermath of the Louisville UPS plane crash.
Local News
Indiana Police Officer Ronnell Johnson Fatally Shot While Handling Personal Firearm at Marion Health Hospital
Authorities in Indiana are investigating the fatal shooting of a Marion Health Police Officer who died early Sunday morning after an accidental firearm discharge inside Marion Health Hospital in Grant County.
According to the Indiana State Police, the incident occurred at approximately 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 30, 2025, when 25-year-old Officer Ronnell J. Johnson, of Marion, Indiana, was discovered with an apparent gunshot wound. Officer Johnson was on duty at the time of the incident.
Initial findings from the ongoing investigation indicate that Officer Johnson was handling a personally-owned, non-department-issued handgun when the firearm discharged, striking him.
Details surrounding how the weapon was being handled and the moments leading up to the injury have not yet been fully clarified.
Emergency personnel from multiple agencies—including the Indiana State Police, Grant County Sheriff’s Office, Marion City Police Department, and Marion Health Police Department—responded immediately.
Hospital medical staff initiated life-saving measures; however, despite their efforts, Officer Johnson succumbed to his injuries.
He was later pronounced deceased by the Grant County Coroner’s Office.
Family notification has been completed, and an autopsy is scheduled as part of the ongoing investigation.
Officials emphasize that no additional details will be released until further evidence is reviewed.
Indiana State Police Detectives are leading the investigation at the request of the Marion City Police Department.
Multiple agencies assisted at the scene, including the Indiana State Police Peru Post and medical personnel from Marion Health Hospital.
The circumstances remain under active review.