PHOENIX -- Families and friends of four journalists dedicated a monument Sunday at a Phoenix park where the men died when their helicopters crashed while following a car chase.

VIDEO: One-Year Anniversary Ceremonies

In a tearful ceremony, fellow reporters, police and other city officials placed flowers along a concrete memorial that carried the pictures of pilots Scott Bowerbank and Craig Smith, and photographers Jim Cox and Rick Krolak.

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon said "the city's collective heart as broken" when the crash occurred. "And one year later while our sorrow is deep, we have come together, and as you've heard so many people have come together, to make this memorial such a tribute to our wonderful friends."

"In many ways, we count on them to begin our day," Kahn told about 300 people who attended the ceremony at Steele Indian School Park in central Phoenix. "We would see the good and the bad. We would know what and how to feel about the community and what to do to make this a better place to live."

The Valley came to know Rick Krolak's young son Colton during the tragedy and he spoke at the unveiling.

"We are grateful for the support from the community in this memorial which I hope will serve as a place of happy memories."

"I hope when people come here, it's not a reminder of the tragedy that we've all come to face, but a reminder of their lives and how good it was," said Colton Krolak.

About 50 feet away from the monument is the spot where, exactly a year ago on July 27, 2007, a news helicopter from KTVK and another from KNXV collided in mid-air while covering a car chase. The choppers dropped in a fiery heap on the park's sprawling lawn.

Bowerbank, Smith, Cox and Krolak died in the crash.

Cox's father, Alan, said he was still angry about what happened.

"To send five choppers plus police helicopters in the same area is foolhardy," Cox said of the crash that killed his son. "Why not send one up? I'm still mad. It was a senseless act."

During the ceremony Cox told the crowd that the media should re-examine how it covers "non-newsworthy" events.

Ashley Guy, pilot Craig Smith's niece, said her family is appreciative of the support from the community for the family. "It gives us great comfort that all of you came here today to honor these great men and this helps their memory to live on forever."

3TV'S pilot Bruce Haffner says the memorial will be a fitting tribute to four Valley journalists. "And now, this park, I'll be able to fly over it and look down and think of those guys all the time in a happier mood."

No Blame Assigned In Preliminary Report

No blame was assigned to either pilot, according to a National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report.

READ: NTSB Preliminary Report

In the report, which made no conclusions about the cause of the accident, federal investigators said they had no reports of erratic movements by either of copters as they were covering a police pursuit.

The report said a police helicopter pilot said the Channel 3 and 15 choppers were "positioned a reasonable distance apart" when he first noticed them.

The pilot said he then broadcast that the motorist being chased was going to carjack another truck, and he glanced away for a moment. When he looked back, the news choppers had moved closer together and "shortly thereafter, they impacted."

The pilot said he noticed the Channel 3 copter broke into many pieces and that the Channel 15 helicopter remained in the air for a second, and then dove nose-first into the ground.

The NTSB said witnesses on the ground indicated that the Channel 3 helicopter was relatively stationary and that the Channel 15 helicopter "was maneuvering when the collision occurred."

The report did not mention any radio transmissions by the news helicopters' pilots, but it cited a "see and avoid" flight advisory that states pilots have a "responsibility for constantly maintaining a vigilant lookout regardless of the type of aircraft being flown."

Federal investigators have yet to determine an exact cause of the crash.

Aviation Experts Study Report

One or both pilots may have been momentarily distracted by a development in a police pursuit they were covering, aviation safety experts said in the wake of the release of the preliminary report.

The news pilots "were probably fixed on that scene and not paying enough attention to where they were," said Len Scott, an aviation accident investigator and retired Federal Aviation Administration safety inspector.

The pilots "maybe lost focus on what is going on," said Larry Grandy, an aviation accident consultant and medical helicopter pilot. "Situation awareness, knowing exactly where you are in time and space, was lost for a couple of seconds and that was enough to cause a crash."

There were five news helicopters covering the pursuit, and a police chopper was also over the chase, but at a lower altitude.

"That's really a hazardous situation," said Ron Schleede, a retired NTSB investigator and manager who also reviewed the preliminary report.

"I'm suspecting, from my experience, this was an accident waiting to happen," he said.

Chase Suspect Held On $1 Million Bond

The man who allegedly started the chase, Christopher Jones, 23, was arrested later on the day of the crash after SWAT officers stormed a home in far west Phoenix where he had barricaded himself inside.

A SWAT team with canines made a forced entry, police said. Jones suffered a number of dog bites and was treated for the wounds.

UNEDITED VIDEO: Jones' Initial Appearance

As he was led into police headquarters in handcuffs, Jones had a few words for news camera crews.

"It wasn't a crime spree, it was an accident," he said. "I didn't even know what I was doing. I blanked out, dude."

Jones was booked into jail on July 27, 2007 on two counts of vehicle theft, four counts of aggravated assault on a police officer and one count of resisting arrest, with other charges expected to be filed later, according to Tranter. He made an initial appearance the next day.