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Friday, Oct. 10, 2008

WR airman dies in car accident in Britain

WARNER ROBINS -- An airman from Warner Robins serving in the United Kingdom has died after an automobile crash earlier this week.

Senior Airman Jacob Allen Butler, 23, died early Wednesday morning at James Paget Hospital in Great Yarmouth, U.K., according to the Bury Free Press newspaper. He suffered head and chest injuries when his car struck a tree at about 10:15 p.m. Tuesday as he was driving between Blythburgh and Reydon just south of Great Yarmouth, which is on the Channel coast northeast of London. The accident still is under investigation.

Butler was an aircraft sensor team member assigned to the 48th Component Maintenance Squadron at Lakenheath Royal Air Force Base, where he had been stationed since April 2007.

A 2004 graduate of Northside High School and former Eagle football player, Butler joined the Air Force about a year after graduating and trained in Texas before going to the U.K., said his aunt, Robin Smith of Athens.

"Jake was just an untamed spirit, always full of energy," Smith said. "He was very athletic and played baseball and football growing up. He was even playing football again over in England.

"It's such a shame to lose him so young. Jake was really on the road to becoming a fine young man, gaining confidence and the courage to make his own decisions. We're just shattered."

Butler is survived by two sons, Noah, 6, and Tristan, 4, of Ludowici; his father, James R. Butler of Warner Robins; his mother, Sally Dixon of Alpharetta; three brothers and two sisters. His father, an Air Force retiree, and one brother, Adam Butler, both work as civilians at Robins Air Force Base.

"Jake divorced recently, but he loved his little boys so much and was always a good daddy with a heart of gold," Smith said. "Not having him here to be a part of their lives is going to be the biggest challenge our family faces."

Funeral services will be held in Warner Robins, Smith said, but the date and final arrangements have not been made as the family awaits the return of Butler's body to the United States.

A memorial service also will be held at Lakenheath on Oct. 17.

To contact writer Chuck Thompson, call 744-4489.