A drunk driver has caused a $500,000 in damages after crashing into the legendary Cobra attack helicopter that was used in the Vietnam War and during Operation Desert Storm.
The incident occurred at a parking lot in Columbia, South Carolina, where 37-year-old Thomas Andrew Anderson crashed his car into the Bell AH-1 helicopter named Annie.
Following the crash, the man responsible for the damage was arrested for driving under influence.
As Trooper David of South Carolina Highway Patrol claimed, Mr. Anderson “thought he was on the expressway by the airport when they were really in a parking area” where the Cobra was parked.
“Sober or slammer! The driver who wrecked into this helicopter was arrested for DUI! This holiday season, drink responsibly!!!!!!!!” the trooper wrote on Twitter.
“It was sitting in a parking lot at the end of a dead end driveway… Drunk driver thought they were on the expressway by the airport when they were really in a parking area.”
Following its retirement from the war, the Cobra in question was seen by over 100,000 students from more than one hundred schools thanks to the retired military personnel of Celebrate Freedom Foundation.
“Annie served in the United State’s army from 1967 to 2001. She did five years in Vietnam. She did the Persian Gulf war and she got taken out by a drunk driver,” executive director Stephen Seymour said in an interview with WLTX.
“It’s going to take a lot of hard work from our veterans and our volunteers and it’s going to take a lot of resources to put this aircraft back into the condition where I can get her back out there doing her job…
“I cried when I heard about it. Annie means so much to the students that she has inspired and the veterans that maintain her.”
As CFF director Lori Wicker added, “they don’t make these anymore. These are our history.”
“My heart hurts so bad because of all the hard work that everyone has put into this aircraft. It just brings back so much emotions with our Veterans who have served. They brought their grand kids to see these,” she said.
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