A famous influencer has shared her anguish after her tycoon husband was injured in a helicopter crash that killed his friend.
Jennifer Houghton, whose Turtle Creek Lane Instagram has over 1 million followers, revealed her husband Steve, 61, was badly injured in a helicopter crash on Thursday afternoon.
The chopper plummeted onto the ice at Ririe Reservoir near Idaho Falls, killing his ‘cherished lifelong friend,’ wealthy medical device CEO Bradford Brown, 59, of Alpine, Utah.
Houghton, who is from Texas, miraculously survived with non-life-threatening injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital.
In a series of dramatic Instagram stories, the lucky survivor’s wife Jennifer revealed the terrifying moment she discovered the crash had occurred.
The Mormon Dallas based influencer, who’s worth $100million, explained how she’d been alerted to the crash by an iPhone alert she’d ignored.
‘On Thursday around 5:30pm, Steven, Kimmy, Tiffany, Adam, and I were at dinner with close family friends when I received a “crash” notification on my phone,’ she wrote.
‘At first, I didn’t think much of it. Ever since the latest Apple update, we’ve had more than our fair share of false alarms. But then I noticed – it wasn’t coming from Steve’s phone. It was from Brad’s helicopter. My heart dropped.’
The family frantically tried to contact Steve and Brad, hoping it was a mistake. ‘The minutes dragged on. Then, we finally located the GPS signal of our friend’s helicopter – the one Steve was in. The location showed a reservoir,’ Jennifer recalled.
‘Moments later, my phone rang with an unknown number with an Idaho area code. A man was on the other end. His voice was steady but uncertain. “There’s been a crash.”‘
Jennifer later learned the caller wasn’t a first responder but ‘just a stranger, a Good Samaritan, who had been out snowmobiling when he came upon the wreckage.’
‘My whole world went into free fall. I barely remember anything after Steven took the phone,’ she continued. ‘Time blurred. I must have been holding my breath because I only remember the moment Steven finally looked at me and delivered the news “Dad is alive… but Brad didn’t make it.”‘
The family secured a private jet to rush to Idaho Falls Regional Airport, touching down at 12:02am before heading straight to the hospital.
‘Walking through those front doors felt like stepping into a dream. Everything around me was moving in slow motion-the voices around me seemed muffled, the lights too bright, the air too cold. My body was there, but my mind was somewhere else, running through all the unknowns,’ she wrote.
Brown, who had a passion for flying was pronounced dead at the scene following the devastating helicopter crash on a frozen Idaho reservoir – just weeks before he was due to celebrate his milestone 60th birthday.
Bonneville County Sheriff’s Deputies confirmed he died instantly when his aircraft crashed approximately a mile east of the dam.
‘First responders deployed on snow machines from the Juniper Campground area, locating the crash site more than a mile east of the dam and two occupants who were inside,’ the Bonneville Sheriff’s office press release wrote.
‘One occupant was deceased at the scene and a second was transported back to an awaiting ambulance before being taken to the hospital for non-life threatening injuries.’
As CEO and founder of ATL Technologies, a Springville-based company that manufactures medical devices, Brown had amassed a fortune estimated to be in the nine-figure range.
His company transformed from a small startup into a global player in the medical technology industry under his leadership.
Brown also had a passion for aviation and was a pilot.
According to his online biography, the 59-year-old flew ‘both helicopters and airplanes with over 4,200 hours’ of experience.
Local flight data identified the helicopter as a Bell 505 Jet Ranger X. Bradford’s flight departed from Rexburg around 4:20 PM on the tragic day.
Just twenty minutes after take-off, multiple emergency agencies responded alongside Bonneville County Sheriff’s Deputies to reports of a helicopter crash on the ice at Ririe Reservoir.
‘Our close-knit family at ATL is devastated by the tragic loss of our founder,’ the company said in an emotional statement.
‘He was visionary, passionate, and dedicated to ATL, the life sciences industry and above all, his family and community,’ the statement read. ‘It goes without saying he leaves an indelible mark on ATL and the global life sciences industry.’
Houghton, who lives in a $12million home in Utah with her family, shared a photo of her husband Steve and their children surrounding his hospital bed.
‘We are heartbroken to share that Steve was a passenger in a helicopter that crashed yesterday,’ she wrote.
‘He and one of his dearest, lifelong friends were exploring God’s beautiful creations when tragedy struck. We are grateful Steve survived and is recovered; however, we are devastated by the loss of his cherished friend in this heartbreaking accident.’
‘Right now, our family is focused on healing and processing this unimaginable loss. We kindly ask for privacy and respect as we navigate the difficult days ahead.’