Who was Samantha Hayes? Single mother-of-3 killed in freak accident after being hit by landing plane
BROKEN BOW, OKLAHOMA: Samantha Hayes was a 27-year-old mother of three. She was fatally hit by a plane while riding a lawnmower at the Broken Bow Airport on September 29.
The aircraft involved in the accident was a 1972 Bananza A36 being flown by 70-year-old James Baxter.
How Did Samantha Hayes Die?
Baxter was preparing to land the aircraft on the runway at Broken Bow Airport on the day of the accident when he suddenly noticed Hayes was in the field on her mower.
In a last-ditch attempt, he attempted to pull the plane up but it was not enough. According to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol's account of the incident, a wing of the aircraft fatally hit Hayes in her head.
Hayes was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident due to head injuries, according to authorities.
Broken Bow is believed to be a sparsely populated municipal airport that does not have any air traffic control and it has not been clarified whether Hayes used to work at the airport, reported Daily Mail.
Friends and family pay tribute to Samantha Hayes
Hayes is remembered as a darling friend and devoted mother by her friends, who have expressed their grief over the incident on Facebook.
"Thank you all for the prayers, food, and everything! People have messaged wanting to know what happened. I'm not gonna say but I will say that Samantha Hayes was a wonderful great mom to her 3 babies! She was a single mom who worked hard to give them a safe and loving home!" posted Darlene Tadleigh.
She further added, "These babies knew they were loved everyday all day! Them babies will know how much their momma loved them. We never know when these things are gonna happen but they can and for her it did."
Tadleigh concluded, "God knew [his] plan for her and it's hard for us to process because she was still needed here but his ways are higher than our ways even when it's hard to understand. Please keep the prayers coming for her family."
Remembering the fun times they had shared, Brooke Dean posted, "Rest in peace to this sweet beautiful soul , Samantha Hayes I loved getting to know you and hanging out."
Dean also recalled, "We never had a dull night we would always all end up laughing the whole time or doing something off the wall like trying to catch a vulture in the middle of the night when you thought it was a chicken or cutting our legs up crawling under the barb wire fence to go frog giggin."
She ended her condolences, saying, "I will forever cherish those memories we made they are absolutely precious to me. I wish we had more time, Sammy. We love you"
Carley Hayes, sharing a photo with Samantha, wrote, " I love you so much Samantha Hayes i am so sorry this happened. You was one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met, I’ve never heard you say a cuss word or talk down on anyone. You was so full of life and had a whole life ahead of you with your precious babies."
"You’ve got a whole family that’s gonna make sure them babies are good I promise. I am so mad and upset I just don’t understand at all," added Carley Hayes.
Carley recalled Samantha fondly as she said, "You was literally my best friend and I’m so thankful for all of the memories we have I just feel like they wasn’t enough. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever faced, I promise I’ll never forget you."
She concluded, "This isn’t goodbye but I’ll see you later, I love you Sammy. You should be here."