POMPANO BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - The father of Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue Capt. Terryson Jackson spoke proudly about his son, days after he was killed in a fatal helicopter crash-landing in Pompano Beach.
Speaking with 7News on Wednesday, Oliver Jackson said the gravity of his loss is setting in.
“He was a phenomenal son. I wish something could bring him back because, I mean, I feel like the world needs him,” he said. “He was a very good nurse, he was a very good paramedic, he was a very good fireman, but when it comes to fatherhood, he was exceptional.”
Jackson’s father described him as a man who put his children first, a man who sacrificed so much for people who needed him. Terryson had a 29-year-old son and a 12-year-old daughter, Mikaela.
“I mean, that was his life. From the time she was a little kid, he has been taking care of her,” said Oliver.
Jackson was teaching Mikaela how to play golf. Oliver said she is really suffering.
Oliver said his son had dropped off Mikaela at school on Monday morning before that fateful flight. Oliver said Mikaela told him that she had a bad feeling.
“[She said], ‘When my dad dropped me off to school, he told me that he’d see me later.’ She’s like, ‘That was different; I thought felt something in what he said, in his voice,'” said Oliver. “It’s almost like she was having a premonition that she might never see her dad again.”
It was a gut feeling that turned into a horrific reality.
On Monday morning, Jackson and two other crew members were on their way to respond to an emergency, when they had trouble about a minute into their flight.
“I’m wondering, where did the fire come from?” the father said. “And then the whole helicopter that kept spinning and spinning and falls down.”
The BSFR helicopter crashed into an apartment community, where Jackson died, as well as a woman who was sitting inside her unit.
The woman’s family identified her as 65-year-old Lurean Wheaton.
“I was devastated; I fell to my knees,” said Michael Varin, a close friend and mentor to Wheaton. “I’d make her laugh. When she laughed, she laughed with joy. Just a sweetheart. Her family is up north — North Carolina, South Carolina, a little bit in Georgia. She’s an auntie to nephews and nieces, and they love her to death.”
Varin said he will remember her for how much she accomplished.
“She was such a humble person,” he said.
The miraculous escape of two BSFR firefighters, 37-year-old Daron Roche and 31-year-old Mikael Chaguaceda, who managed to get themselves out, was caught on cellphone footage. They were transported to Broward Health North with injuries that were not life-threatening.
The firefighters were seen crawling to safety on a rooftop amidst the chaos and danger.
The investigation continued on Tuesday. Live video footage captured workers loading the charred and indistinguishable helicopter onto the flatbed of a trailer as they worked to clean up the aftermath of the crash.
Investigators said they will be analyzing all of the wreckage and surveillance video of the incident, to figure out what caused the aircraft to crash.
That’s what Oliver desperately wants to know.
“I don’t want his life to have just gone like that for nothing whatsoever,” he said. “I just want them to do a thorough job of trying to find out exactly what happened.”
Until he gets those answers, Oliver said, this loss is one he hopes no one else has to endure.
“I’m trusting God that no parent would have to go through the experience that we are going through, having what happened to our son,” he said.
To honor his services, Jackson was posthumously promoted to battalion chief.
“We are saddened to announce the line of duty death of Captain Terryson Jackson… All units stand by for a moment of silence,” said an officer over the Broadcastify police scanner.
His father remains incredibly proud of Jackson’s career.
“He was a tremendous firefighter. I’m just very, very proud of him, and I’m just very proud of the work he has done,” Oliver added. “It’s just hurtful that he’s lost his life doing it.”
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration continue to investigate the crash.
Officials said the preliminary report will be completed in about two to three weeks. As to figuring out what caused the helicopter to crash, they said that would be released in a final report, likely in one to two years.
Funeral arrangements for both victims have not been announced.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.