Helicopter news crew memorialized

Family, friends and co-workers gathered for a memorial service in Phoenix, remembering the dedication and passion of two television journalists who were killed when their news helicopter crashed.

KVTK-TV pilot Scott Bowerbank, 42, and photographer Jim Cox, 37, died in the collision with a competing station’s helicopter as they reported on a police chase. The crash destroyed both choppers, sprayed a Phoenix park with debris and also killed the two journalists reporting from the KNXV-TV helicopter.

About 900 people attended the service at the First United Methodist Church, and about 100 other mourners watched proceedings on two oversize screens a block away. Services for the KNXV crew members killed in the crash, Craig Smith and Rick Krolak, are set for Thursday and Saturday, respectively.