Newtown icon’s mother loses crash battle

The mother of Newtown icon Sonia Marra Nicholson, who died in a New York helicopter crash in October, has also died.

The New York medical examiner’s office said 60-year-old Harriet Nicholson died early on Sunday of ‘respiratory complications of near-drowning’.

Marra Nicholson, the former owner of Newtown’s Madam Fling Flongs/Soni’s Restaurant, died shortly after the sightseeing helicopter’s crash into New York’s East River.

She was celebrating her 40th birthday with her partner Helen Tamaki, her mother and her stepfather Paul Nicholson.

Tamaki also passed away from her injuries one week after the crash.