when the chopper went down. gentry was flying in medford, new jersey, before he and his band mate were set to perform at flying w airport and resort. >> cydney long is joining us live from nearby the crash scene. >> we know there was no smoke or planes and this pilot was dead upon impact but gentry was still alive when first responders reached him. witnesses say this pilot had earlier radioed for help. they stood by praying it could make a safe landing but they watched it crash to the ground hard and fast. a mainstay heartthrob and well loved by country music fans, troy gentry was killed this afternoon when he took a helicopter ride at the flying w. he was set to rock the popular venue tonight at 5:00. >> you can literally see it fall and at that point, i just was in

shock. >> dan higens had just finished lunch. he was excited for the concert and excited for his friend who stayed behind and met band members including gentry. his friend brian called him in a panic. >> he said you're not going to believe this. evan is up with the lead singer and the throttle stuck. he's going to have to come in hard and heavy. >> reporter: he believes the chopper was a two-seater, bubble style with no doors. he rushed back to the scene praying somehow the two would be able to safely touch down. >> he said i don't know how it happens, but he's going to be crash landing. he said the paramedics are on the way and fire trucks are on the way. the airport is all on alert. we have to push back behind the building in case it blows up. >> reporter: tonight people who plan to attend the show were shaken and in tears when stopped by police. he says the pilot taught lessons at the flying w and was very experienced. >> evan was a heck of a guy to hang out with. you get a lot of laughs with him. i can guarantee even with what

happened, they were probably smiling having the best time they could with it. >> i just talked to a witness who met the band members today. he told me that a number of the montgomery gentry band members were going to go up in the helicopter. gentry just happened to be the tirs. he's heartbroken. police have not yet firmed technical trouble or what may have caused the crash. they are holding a press conference as we speak and the faa and ntsb will investigate. cydney long, nbc 10 news. >> as you might imagine reactions are already pouring in from the country world. blake on to tweeted out, this picture saying found this picture of me and my old friend troy a few days ago. i'm heartbroken. brad paiz lee said god bless you, troy. heartbroken and in disbelief. we'll keep following the story all night long and post new information on the app as soon as we get it. sign up for breaking news alerts so you will get updates first.

>> now to hurricane irma head ing straight for the u.s. tonight. but the record setting storm is already leaving deadly damage in its wake. streets turn into ponds in haiti after the hurricane roared past that country çtoday. the storm has killed 17 people. and now florida and georgia are in its cross hairs as the storm inches closer. many people have gotten out already. we are bringing you live coverage of irma. let's begin with meteorologist tammie souza. >> those evacuations on the gulf coast just went into effect today. so a lot of people taking it very seriously and starting to pack up and get out. i have people down there and they are boarding up and trying to get out as well.

we have a trough that needs to dig in to get this thing to turn. but at this point, i don't think it's going to. it's barrelling to the west. it may even hit cuba. it's very slowly turning, but not quickly. and if this track shifts further west, this is going to head into the gulf. here you can see the well-defined eye. not that far, about 330 miles at this point from miami. but it is expected that this is actually going to go around to the southwest corner and that's where it will wind up making landfall. all of the models are in agreement with that gauze we're about 24 hours from landfall, 24 to 36 hours, they have come into a tight consensus. it's a category 4. watch what happens. this is bad news. it actually inclereases in intensity. that's the forecast. look how tiny the cone has become.

we agree. it's going hear. somewhere in the tiny cone. now it looks like it's going past miami. miami is on the very edge of it. look at this. category 5 could possibly be landing somewhere near naples, maybe even fort myers or sarasota. that would be their biggest nightmare. and that was a category 3. a cat 5 making landfall is going to be devastating. it moved up by jacksonville and finally the whole thing fizzles out in the tennessee valley. we'll talk more about this and have the european models to show you and i'm going to talk about how it's going to affect our beaches this weekend, when i come back in just a little bit. >> tim furlong is in fort lauderdale tonight. >> reporter: on the southeast florida coast, they are filling sandbags and snatching up ice. >> they said move to florida. it will be fine. >> reporter: he is here at his

house doing what he can to get it ready for ir pa. >> it's been through a lot of hurricanes. i have no. expectation it is won't be there on monday. >> reporter: he has a boat tied down hard on his dock. >> those are the old tie downs sunk into the ground. >> he put water in that boat. >> that keeps it heavy so it doesn't blow away. >> he has good insurance and isn't afraid to use it. he thinks his house will be okay and this is just the risk you take buys a house on the water. >> it's a part of what you have to do if you don't want to spend the winters and deal with the snow. >> back here the at home, a live look at philadelphia international airport. steady stream of passenger u s now continuing to shuffle through the airport trying to escape hurricane irma and these travelers are shelling out a lot of money to avoid her wrath at this point. travel agents tell us the average passenger is paying between $200 and $400 for a one-way ticket to philly. in some case, much more than

that. there's a rush to gel out of some airports as they close. >> people that have lived there for 34 years, they are scared. because of what just happened in houston. >> this group of women from south jersey drove 12 hours last night to south carolina from orlando. they are scheduled flight for tomorrow night was cancelled. and they say there were no other flights available. so they hit the road. >> a few ago, we learned disney world is closing early saturday nieght and will stay closed through monday. hotels on the resort will stay open. universal in orlando and busch gardens are also closing. stay with the nbc 10 app for updates all weekend long as hurricane irma approaches. use our live interactive radar and see the worst of the damage and get the latest track from the nbc 10 weather team. stay tuned for "nbc nightly news" right after this newscast. lester holt anchors live from miami. he will show you how first responders are relocating some

of their equipment and telling people they may be on their own until firefighters can get back. here in philadelphia tonight, the hunt for whoever killed this father in front of his 2-year-old daughter. police say two men came up to rob him and then shot him in the head. >> brandon hudson broke this story last night and joins us live. neighbor there is are mourning him tonight. >> reporter: that's right, they are meeting not far behind me. police have just pulled up. we're going to see what doing here. but investigators want justice for this widow and her two young children after the father refused to give up his car and was shot to death. at the guard helped create neighbors met to remember the 38-year-old father known as a presence in this spring garden community. police say he was the block captain of an area with newer homes. neighbors will remember him as a husband and father of two who won't get to see his children

grow up. >> he was coming home from lemon hill playing in the park with his daughter and dog. >> reporter: two men wearing dark hoodies confronted him as he left his car last night. the father gave the robbers his wallet, but tried to protect his 2-year-old and dog still in the car. >> he wouldn't give up the car. and they shot him for it. our heart goes out to the family. >> reporter: we do know police are locking at surveillance video from this neighborhood. the two robbers who appear to be in their late teens and early 20s ran north on 15th street. live in spring garden, brandon hudson, nbc 10 news. some delaware daycare workers came to the rescue after a man tried to take two infants early today. >> it all happened this morning at the happy kids academy in newark. investigators say the 47-year-old pushed an employee in the face when she answered the door.

he then walked to the infant room and picked up the babies. employees were able to wrestle the children from him. davis took off but was arrested a short time later. the search is on tr two men who attacked a local college student walking alone. she may have been sexually assaulted. the woman was attack ed right b lasalle university. the pair followed her and threw bleach in her face. the victim was on the phone with her boyfriend at the time so he quickly called police and campus security. the student treated at the hospital and released. texas senator ted cruz wants governor christie to go back to the beach. the latest jab in a feud between the two over hurricane disaster relief money. in an interview with the "new york times" published today, cruz said, he's quite confident in texas gives a flip what christie has to say. christie said he supports disaster funding for texas after hurricane harvey even though

cruz voted gns funding for new jersey in 2013. cruz says he voted no because the money would have gone to projects not related to sandy. christie's office responded to this latest jab today saying cruz lied about the sandy bill and called him a hypocrite. up next at 6:00, trouble in the ocean. how hurricane irma is bringing danger to the jersey shore tonight. i'm tracking irma toward florida and the effects towards us. we'll talk about it when i come back. plus the eagles out for redemption when they open their season sunday. some team veterans tell us why, coming up in sports.

sgrmpblts pennsylvania's attorney general is investigating the data breach of equifax. >> 143 million customers are impacted by the breach. that's half of all americans. and the bureau of consumer protection is leading a multistate investigation. you can check to see if you're impacted on nbc10.com. delaware will fight to become home to amazon's new headquarters. >> the governor announced the state will propose the first

state as an ideal location. the retail giant announced yesterday it's looking for a place to house a second headquarters in north america. the facility will create 50,000 jobs. philadelphia also plans to present a to amazon. a live look at the jersey shore. beautiful weather this weekend will send a lot of people back to the beach for a late summer trip. >> as hurricane irma takes aim at florida, the killer storm is causing conditions in the ocean here. why the timing is fuelling a waves of for local lifeguards. >> reporter: on ocean city beaches, sun, sand and a noticeable difference in the surf. >> it's a long stronger than two days ago. >> a moderate to high risk of life threatening rip currents expected through the weekend and even into next week. fuelled by irma and jose. >> mother nature is an amazing

thing. waves travel hundreds of miles and we are seeing that today. we'll continue to see that. >> lifeguards especially worried about the increased danger with beautiful weather likely to lure to the coast if late summer weekend. a time when beach patrol ace long the jersey shore have fewer eyes watching the water. >> you have to be t(áq#ul. you can't jund estimate the power of the ocean. >> reporter: they will have just nine guarded beaches. compare that to more than 40 at the height of the summer. >> it does make us kshed. we're out there doing what we can do urging people to come to the beaches. >> and warning them to stay out of the surf altogether when lifeguards leave the beach. ted greenberg, nbc 10 news. and hurricane irma will slam into florida coming up on sunday morning. >> will that could start feeling the impact of the storm tonight. let's bring in meteorologist tammie souza with more on that. >> absolutely.

the outer bounds of clouds and rains are reaching the southern tip of florida and it's only going to increase. we're 24 to 36 hours from landfall. and then it will march right on up the state. the track is shifting westward a little at a time. so this may end up being something that goes along the west coast and the panhandle. i think it's going to stay on the track it has now though. this is what ted was talking about. we have all thesen giant waves from irma out there. behind irma, hurricane jose. so both two very powerful storms. jose may become a 5 at sol point and the waves are washing up the atlantic. we have this high risk of dangerous rip currents along the jersey shore. we could see waves in access of six feet. you don't want to go in the water. this is going to last for the next three or four days. we have to get both of these giant hurricanes out of here so the water can calm down. if you're out at the beach, not a good idea to go in the water.

we do have clouds that have filtered through and some spotty showers. all of this is associated with the spin of this area of low pressure, which is now finally moving eastward. it was blocked by that giant high pressure area that has been steering irma. let's look at what's going to happen for our weekend. not half bad. just cooler than normal. isolated sprinkle or shower from the wrap around of that area of low pressure. tomorrow morning we're going to be in the 50s and even some 40s in the outlying areas. so you'll be very crisp and fall-like. low 70s across the area with a northwest wind and on sunday it looks like plenty of sunshine. so the weekend will be pretty, but it will be cooler by 8 degrees from where we should be. we'll look at the mid-70s with a bit of a northeast wind on sunday. here goes irma. it looks like irma may actually hit part of cuba before making that turn. the turn should be happening pretty quick. the track has been advancing westward. let's look at the latest statistics and that track.

we'll really zoom in close for you. 155 mile an hour winds. it is a category 4 and it is moving to the west. now watch what happens. the models also say we're going to bump you back up to a 5 as you cross the florida keys. this would be only the fourth time it a category 5 hurricane has struck the u.s. mainland. some of the worst were downgraded to a 3 like katrina. andrew was upgraded to a 5. those are the only ones. watch what happens. marco island, right on into fort meyers. anywhere in the cone, but it's shift further westward. this looks like it could affect the west coast of florida more. right past tampa and through lakeland and up through perhaps oca ocala. perhaps fizzle iing out in the tennessee valley. maybe making a move right into music city in nashville. look at this path that you can see the cone is now beginning to

shift further west and off of miami. doesn't mean that they are in the clear. it just mean this is hurricane pa path is taking accurate shape. 74 on sunday. 77 on monday. we may see some of the sprinkles or light rain tuesday, wednesday or thursday of next week. let's go to breaking news now from south jersey. one person has died in this crash right here. you see the scene there. a fire truck as well. the remains of that vehicle unders. another person is hurt here. sky force 10 is over crown. point road near i-295. this road closed as you might expect while police are investigating this accident. we don't know the details, but we'll be right back.

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marshal here from csn. the eagles getting tough news earlier today. former teammate and longsnapper john dorenbos has been diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm. he will need to undergo open heart surgery very soon. the saints head coach says it was discovered during a follow-up physical after the trade. so the deal may have actually saved his life. a lot of people tonight including his former teammates back here in philadelphia. >> we take our health for granted sometimes. we play a gladiator sport and find out some news like that is scary and unfortunate. but we're here and praying for him. >> for a guy like him, to

overcome as much as he has, it's difficult. thoughts and prayers are with him. we know he's going to be okay, which is a good thing. >> the saints also said earlier today they are trying to rescind last month's trade. in the meantime, he will be placed on the non-football illness list. there's a game to play on sunday. season opener against washington. washington won the last five matchups between the two teams. they got one last practice and will travel south tomorrow. phillies back in action. game two against the nationals in washington. getting plenty of production from their rookies of late. since earlier this summer, williams combined for 21 home runs and 67 rbis. crawford is added into the mix. e we caught up with the general manager who talked about the timing of bringing these guys up. >> when e we bring players to the big leagues, we want them to stay there. we bring them up when we feel they are ready and the hope is that they will stay and next

case they did. he's done that and he's auditioning. >> later tonight we continue the high school blit wz highlights from around the area. camden versus kcatholic. we'll be right back. i'm danny. you're danny? i'm steve. joseph, i'm steve. how are you? nice to meet you sir. no different from everyone else. they just want a job. they want respect and they want dignity. steve called fairly frantic. you know, he had a premature baby and i think he had just

been given the diagnosis that she had down syndrome. lauren brought out the best in me. she made me a different person. lauren's the spark that started the fire. the goal is keep places like this open so all people, regardless of disability, have an opportunity for employment.

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a gig-speed network. it's like 20 times faster than what most people have. i'd of said... i'd of said you're dreaming. dreaming! definitely dreaming. then again, dreaming is how i got this far. now more businesses in more places can afford to dream gig. comcast, building america's largest gig-speed network. a beautiful weekend in our area is starting tonight. looking at center city from our campus camera. almost feels cool to talk about the beautiful weather when all those people are bracing for irma. >> all the people in the islands about to be hit by jose. it's a tragedy. for us we'll have a lovely weekend and cooler than average with plenty of sunshine. sun and clouds on monday and we could see leftover rain from irma. you'll want to follow with us. the track is shifting west and becoming more well defined. we'll have the latest online and on social media and our facebook page. but we're following very closely. >> that's our news at 6:00.

thanks for watching. i'm jim rosenfield. >> and i'm jacqueline london. up next is "nbc nightly news." see you back here at 11:00. breaking news tonight. bracing for impact. a ferocious hurricane wider than the entire state closes in on florida. a direct hit with catastrophic winds and storm surge. an ominous new warning from fema. >> i can guarantee you that i don't know anybody in florida that's ever experienced what's abou to hit south florida. >> tonight a massive emergency operation. thousands packing into shelters and hospitals on alert. miami a virtual ghost town and fears are growing on florida's gulf coast as the latest track just in shows the storm ticking to the west. al roker is here with brand-new details. "nightly news" from florida begins right now. hurricane