10/02 DPS is remember 2-fallen Troopers today who were killed in a helicopter crash on this day in 1983. DPS pilot, 36-year-old Thomas McNeff, and paramedic, 27-year-old Richard Stratman, died when the helicopter they were in crashed in a flooded cotton field in Marana. At the time, historic storms with heavy rainfall were occurring, flooding areas along the Santa Cruz River. The men were returning to land after spending the last 11.5-hours assisting search and rescue. Their bodies were located at the crash site under 5-feet of water.
