A soldier from New York got hurt in a helicopter crash over the US-Mexico border. They are still in the hospital. Also, two other soldiers and a Border Patrol agent died in the crash.
Three people died in a car crash near Rio Grande City on Friday. They were Chief Warrant Officer 2 Casey Frankoski, who was 28 years old, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 John Grassia, who was 30, both from the New York National Guard, and Border Patrol Agent Chris Luna, who was 49 years old. The reason for the crash is still being looked into.
The UH-72 Lakota helicopter crashed while doing border security for the government, according to a statement from Joint Task Force North. This unit helps Customs and Border Protection.
The hurt soldier was in the New York National Guard, says the National Guard Bureau. The soldier, whose name we don’t know, was in charge of the aircraft crew. The soldier is still in the hospital, as said in a statement by the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs.
Major General Ray Shields, the leader of the New York military, said in a statement that they are very surprised and sad about the deaths of Frankoski and Grassia. They are also hoping for the injured crew chief to get better quickly.
US Customs and Border Patrol Commissioner Troy Miller said that they were very sad about the death of Luna. Luna leaves behind a wife, two children, parents, and a brother.
Alejandro Mayorkas, the person in charge of protecting the country, said he hopes the injured national guardsman gets better quickly. He also said that the department feels very sorry for the families of the people who were killed.
Grassia was a trooper from New York. He joined the New York Army National Guard in 2013 as a helicopter maintenance specialist. The statement explained that Frankoski, from Rensselaer, New York, joined the New York Army National Guard in 2016. She learned how to fly UH-60 Black Hawk and UH-72 Lakota helicopters.
The Governor of New York. Kathy Hochul said she was very sad about Grassia and Frankoski’s deaths.
“There is no more important job than serving and protecting your country,” she said.
Frankoski and Grassia were put in a group called Detachment 2, in a company called Company A, in the 1st Battalion of the 244th Aviation Regiment. Luna got a job at the Border Patrol station in Rio Grande City.
The helicopter that crashed belonged to the District of Columbia Army National Guard, as reported by the New York State Division of Military & Naval Affairs.
The border area is regularly watched by state and federal officials, who also use planes to watch over it.
In January, a helicopter from the Texas Department of Public Safety was flying along the border with Mexico when it suddenly lost power and crashed, according to officials. The second pilot got a small injury on his hand and the helicopter was badly damaged. The helicopter was flying as a part of a mission called Operation Lone Star, by the Governor of Texas. Greg Abbott has spent almost $10 billion on a mission at the border, which has challenged the federal government’s power over immigration.
