Kenny Chesney Remembers His ‘Sweet Friend’ After Helicopter Crash

Kenny Chesney is remembering a friend after they died in a helicopter crash on the island of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Chesney used Instagram on Monday to tribute his friend Maria Rodriguez, writing that he was saying a “very hard goodbye.”

The singer accompanied his words with a slideshow of photos including two photos of himself with Rodriguez and two images of her laughing. “Maria and others were killed today in a helicopter crash in St. Thomas,” Chesney wrote. “She was a dear friend to me and to our island community. I have been flying with Maria for over 15 years and we shared a lot of laughs and a lot of life together. She was always the first person I saw when I landed and the last person I said goodbye to when I would leave island. I’m sure going to miss that.”

“It’s fair to say I won’t ever be able to go to the Virgin Islands again without feeling the loss of her,” he continued. “She was such a huge part of my island life. So goodbye sweet friend. I’m sure glad our paths crossed on this side. See you on the other.”

The St. Thomas Source reports that the crash took place in the Botany Bay area on Monday, Feb. 15 at about 3 p.m. local time and killed four people including Rodriguez. A number of Virgin Islands government agencies responded to the crash, which occurred after the helicopter left the Cyril E. King Airport Monday afternoon for the short trip to the western end of St. Thomas.

Chesney spends a large amount of his time in the Virgin Islands and recently spoke about his love for island life during an appearance on The Bobby Bones Show. The Tennessee native has been involved in the island life for 20 years, and he explained that his friends in the area don’t see him as an entertainer.

“When they come out to the shows, you know, they only know me as someone they’ve seen on the island for a lot of years now, but when they come out to a show, they’re really confused because they don’t know the other person,” he said. “They can’t believe it, you know, because they just see me as a local and in their grocery store.”