DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — We're now hearing the frantic first calls to police moments after a plane crashed onto Interstate 285.
Channel 2 Action News had live coverage from the air and ground minutes after we received word of the crash Friday morning.
We spoke to one of the first callers who witnessed the Piper PA-32 go down near the Peachtree Industrial Boulevard exit.
[911 dispatcher: "Where are you ma'am?"]
[Ann Wilder: "Okay, we're on the 31-B, a plane just crashed! On the 31-B, 285."]
Wilder told Channel 2 Action News she first heard the plane and then saw it go down.
"I'm headed toward Augusta-Macon. So, I'm headed east. And it flew right over my head and crashed into the barricade," Wilder said.
A split second later, it was tragically worse.
"And then I hear a huge boom. And I look in my side mirror, and there's this fireball," Wilder said.
Four people onboard the plane were killed; Christopher, Phillip, and Greg Byrd, and Jackie Kulzer. They were on their way to see a family member's graduation.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating what caused the crash. The investigation should last two weeks, but it will take between six months and a year to release the full federal report.
Wilder says the crash could've been worse and believes the first responders saved lives that day.
"I really believe in our first responders. I knew they could protect the people behind me," Wilder said.
A memorial service is set for the Byrd family at 2 p.m. Monday at Trinity Episcopal Church in Asheville, North Carolina.
WSBTV
