From what I know about Bryan Ekers, I suspect that he remembered those details, but chose to use the earlier quote from Hudson as a humorous way of indicating that Hicks was alive by the end of the movie. That’s how I took it, anyway.
Well, the line was indeed repurposed from Hicks’ earlier “Dietrich and the Sarge ain’t dead. Their life signs are real low, but they ain’t dead.”
Dietrich, as one may recall, was the squad’s third female member (after Ferro the pilot and fan-favourite Vasquez) and apparently also its medic since she gave Newt a brief checkup (“borderline malnutrition”). Dietrich was the first member of the squad attacked, just after she’d speculated “Maybe they don’t show up on infrared at all.”
As she was grabbed, Dietrich panicked and triggered her flamethrower, which immolated Frost, whose burning body fell down a stairwell. Frost was carrying the ammo, as ordered by Apone (who would be soon be grabbed also) after Gorman told the squad to disarm, and when the flames got to it, the explosion killed Crowe.
