Free Republic

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The co-pilot who survived Comair Flight 5191 has lost a leg and must undergo surgery on a fractured spinal cord, his family said Monday in a statement. He still doesn't remember the events of the Aug. 27 crash that killed 49 people. Doctors have amputated the left leg of James Polehinke, 44, of Margate, the lone survivor of the Aug. 27 crash at Blue Grass Airport. He also has undergone surgery to repair complicated fractures on his right left and foot, and faces several orthopedic surgeries, one involving a spinal fracture, the family said.

Ky. Plane Crash Survivor Asks 'Why?' By JEFFREY McMURRAY The Associated Press Wednesday, September 6, 2006; 10:47 PM LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The sole survivor of a plane crash that killed 49 people near the Lexington airport last week told family members from his hospital bed, "Why did God do this to me?" but he hasn't mentioned the crash, a close family friend said Wednesday. James Polehinke, who was the flight's co-pilot, can move only his head, and tears often well up in his eyes, said Antonio Cruz, Polehinke's mother's boyfriend. He said the 44-year-old has been in and out of...

James Polehinke, 44, of Margate, the copilot and sole survivor of Sunday's Comair Flight 5191 crash in Lexington, Ky., kept to himself, neighbors said. [snip] Ida Askew, 51, was arrested and charged with attempted murder in July 1999 after she shot Polehinke in the stomach with a handgun while the couple was arguing, police records show.