ENUMCLAW, Wash. — Charles Van Hoof Jr. was one of the first people to respond to a Black Hawk helicopter from Fort Lewis that crashed on a wooded hillside, killing the three crewmembers aboard — one of whom has ties to Hawai'i.

Van Hoof told the Tacoma News Tribune that he arrived at the crash scene Thursday night to find that the UH-60 Black Hawk had hit a large tree and crashed about 400 feet up the mountain behind his home.

"When they hit that tree, it was over," Van Hoof said. "If they had went another 20 feet higher, it would have gone over everything."

Fort Lewis identified the soldiers yesterday as Chief Warrant Officer James E. Whitehead, 33; Sgt. Thomas L. Clarkston Jr., 25; and Chief Warrant Officer Patrick J. Paige, 32.

All were members of the 4th Squadron, 6th Air Cavalry Regiment, which has been at Fort Lewis for about a year. Fort Lewis officials said Whitehead was an Army aviator who joined the service in Hawai'i. He began active duty in August 1992.

Records indicate Whitehead may have had an active address in Kailua as late as March 2006. However, records also show Whitehead apparently moved from the Islands to Fort Polk in Louisiana in 2004 and then on to Fort Lewis in 2005. No other information was available last night.

Clarkston's family said Friday they had been notified that he was among those killed.

Clarkston, of Liberty, Ind., was the crew chief of the Black Hawk, overseeing navigation and other duties. He began service in May 2002 and was stationed at Fort Lewis in July 2005.

His survivors include his wife, Teffiny, and a 14-month old son.

Paige was an Army aviator from Alabama. He had been on active duty since November 1995, Fort Lewis officials said.

Both Paige and Whitehead arrived at Fort Lewis in August 2005, the Army said. Their hometowns were not immediately available.

The crew had been on a scheduled night training mission Thursday when the helicopter crashed on 1,835-foot Mount Peak.

A team of safety investigators from the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center at Fort Rucker, Ala., was called in to try to find out what went wrong.

Van Hoof, 42, said he heard the helicopter fly low over the area.

"It was so low that it shook the house," he said.

"It went over, and then about two seconds later, I heard it hitting the trees, thrashing and making a lot of noise. And then there was an explosion and a red flash."

He called 911 and headed up the steep, snowy mountain with his wife. Armed with flashlights and blankets, they found bits of fiberglass and a strong smell of diesel fuel.

The site looked like a bomb had gone off, Van Hoof said. The Black Hawk had sheared a path off the top of the pines before dropping to the ground.

Only the copter's tailpiece was recognizable. The front of the aircraft was "totally gone, just pieces everywhere," Van Hoof said.

The couple later led King County sheriff's deputies to the crash site. Searchers found the first two bodies quickly, then discovered the third Friday morning.

Fort Lewis is home to an estimated 130 Black Hawks, Chinooks, OH-58 Kiowa Warrior scout helicopters and AH-64 Apache attack helicopters.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.