Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said he caught a flight out of Ronald Reagan National Airport in the Washington, D.C., area, shortly before a passenger jet headed to the airport collided mid-air with an Army helicopter, killing everyone aboard both aircraft.

Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard was in the air—flying from D.C. to Detroit as the deadly collision happened at Reagan National Airport. Bouchard said his time in D.C. this week was memorable as he was named ‘Sheriff of the Year’ by the Major County Sheriffs of America.