A victim of a hot air balloon disaster sent a final heartbreaking message to his girlfriend just moments before the craft went down.
Chayton Wiescholek, 28, was one of 13 people, including eight skydivers and four passengers, to board the hot air balloon flying over Eloy, Arizona on Sunday (January 14), as reported by Fox 17.
According to the outlet, his long-time girlfriend, Kinsey Taylor, was among the eight skydivers who jumped safely before the balloon showed signs of malfunction.
At around 7:50AM, the balloon crashed in a rural desert area of the city and claimed the lives of Wiescholek, Kaitlynn Bartrom, 28, Atahan Kiliccote, 24, and pilot Cornelius Van Der Walt, 37. Valerie Stutterheim, 23, survived the crash but remains hospitalized in critical condition.
Taylor had jumped out of the hot air balloon for a planned skydive, minutes earlier before any signs of trouble. She only realized something had gone wrong when she landed and saw the heart-wrenching message from her boyfriend, Wiescholek.
"She looked at her phone and had a message from my son. It said, 'I love you.' He knew he was going to die," Wiescholek's mom Rhonda told the publication.
"Chayton texted Kinsey on the way down and said that this ain’t gonna be good, 'I love you, goodbye,' and signed off. So his last thoughts were with his girlfriend," his dad, Gary, added.
Gary disclosed to KTVU that Taylor immediately tried to call her partner but "someone else answered the phone and said: 'This is not good, you need to be here now'" so she "shredded her parachute harness and she ran two miles to get to him and officials wouldn’t let her near him".
The couple lived with their cats in Union City, Michigan, and were on a vacation in Arizona at the time of the crash. They had been planning on getting married, according to Wiescholek's father.
The victim's mother caught the first flight from Michigan to Arizona after learning about the tragedy, she told Arizona's Family. "I’m staying here until I can take my son home. I am not leaving without him.
"There’s not a whole bunch more you can say. You’re just broken," she continued. "He was just up in the balloon to be with her and all the skydivers had jumped out of the balloon and then something went wrong and we still don’t know what."
Amid her grief, Rhonda is finding some peace, sharing: "Knowing that he was happy, yes. Because that’s all I’ve ever asked of my children is I want you happy and he was happy with her. So, I know he was happy."
The grieving family has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for Wiescholek's memorial and funeral services. As of the time of writing, $12,295 has been raised from the intended $15,000 target.
The family said they "want to continue to remember Chayton, as the life of the party, the adventure seeker, and solid voice of reason," adding: "For most, when we sit and reminisce on our fondest memories with Chayton we smile because that’s what he did, lit everything and everyone up with him."
The Eloy Police Department released a statement on Facebook and said they are "actively collaborating" with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to investigate the cause of the disaster.
"We extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends of those who have lost their lives in this tragic incident and our thoughts are with Ms. Stutterheim as she receives medical care," they added.
Our thoughts are with the families of all victims.
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