Dad Tried to Keep Daughter ‘Calm’ as Helicopter Descends 500 Feet to Ground. After the crash, She Asked, ‘Are You Alive?’

YOU NEED TO KNOW

• A dad fought to keep his daughter “calm” as the helicopter they were riding in fell nearly 500 feet to the ground in Wasatch County, Utah, earlier this week

• All four people on board survived, but the young woman, Oaklee Toone, suffered head injuries.

• “It really is my worst nightmare,” said Toone’s sister, Baylee Demars, when she learned of the crash.

A father comforted his daughter as the helicopter they were riding in plunged nearly 500 feet to the ground in Utah over the weekend, family says.

The four people on board survived, but the young woman was airlifted in critical condition.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Baylee Demars told NBC affiliate KSL that she learned her father, Kory Toone, and sister, Oaklee Toone, were in a chopper crash on Sunday, Jan. 18.

“It’s really my worst nightmare,” Demars said.

That Sunday afternoon, around 3:10 pm local time, a Bell 206L carrying four people crashed near a highway in Wasatch County, the Federal Aviation Administration confirms to PEOPLE.

Local officials received a report of the crash and were able to locate the helicopter 100 yards off State Road 35, the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

“One individual sustained a critical injury and was transported by AirMed to a hospital for treatment of a head injury,” authorities said. “The remaining occupants were assessed at the scene.”

The National Transportation Safety Board is conducting an ongoing investigation. A spokesman for the agency says that the on-site phase of the investigation is complete and a preliminary report is expected by next month.

A final report is expected within one to two years.

The crash landing brought an abrupt end to a fun outing for the Toones and their close friends – the pilot and his wife – KSL reported.

Kory had started recording the flight on his cell phone and the video captured both him and Oaklee smiling.

But as the helicopter later spun out of the pilot’s control, crashing to the ground, the dad dropped his phone, according to KSL.

The recording continued, and Demars was later able to listen to the audio that was captured before the helicopter crashed near Wolf Creek Campground.

“Something I found out about my dad is that he’s a rock,” Demars told KSL. “Hear him coaching my sister through this and keeping her calm, they both think they’re going to die, and he’s keeping her calm.”

At the end of the recording, Demars said she could hear Oaklee yelling to their father, “I’m alive. I’m alive. Dad, are you alive?”

“He responded back and that was music to my ears,” Demars told the outlet. “I was so happy to hear that they could talk.”

Nearby snowmobilers, one of whom was a nurse, saw the plane land and helped the passengers until first responders arrived.

Kory is now recovering from serious chest injuries, and his daughter hit her head, KSL reported.

Demars credited the pilot for helping to save everyone on board.

All four people are now out of the hospital, which she said is a “miracle,” KSL reported. Even so, her sister has a long recovery ahead of her, prompting Demars to launch a GoFundMe.

“She works tirelessly to provide for herself and this head injury will keep her out of income for some time,” Demars wrote at the fundraiser. “The upcoming cost of AirMed and her medical bills are certainly stressful for her.”

As the family heals, they are grateful to have more time together.

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“The thing you experience when you think you’re going to die is that you’re not thinking about your possessions,” Demars told KSL. “You’re thinking about people, your family, your friends, your loved ones.”

She added, “Dad expressed that this was what was going through his mind.”

Read the original article on People