A Robinson R44 operated by Milwaukee TV station WISN crashed late in the afternoon of December 12, killing its pilot, 47-year-old John Michael Wilson, and causing a nine-vehicle chain-reaction collision on Interstate 43 west of Milwaukee. A total of 12 motorists were injured, none critically. The accident happened in rainy weather, conditions sufficiently severe to preclude a local aeromedical rescue helo from flying to the crash site. The R44 had just dropped off a WISN reporter following coverage of a factory fire and was on its way home to the East Troy (Wis.) Airport, where it is based, when it struck a static line atop power transmission lines near the highway and fell 125 ft to the ground. The R44 was leased by WISN from Metro Networks, an ENG service provider and affiliate of the Westwood One media giant.