Officials say a medical helicopter crashed on a Sacramento highway, pinned down below, and seriously injured three people, including a woman who was rescued with the help of a driver who lifted parts of the aircraft.
The helicopter took the patient to the hospital and had returned to where he had been dispatched since he had an “air emergency” Monday just after 7pm, said Justin Sylvia Daitain, a spokesman for the Sacramento Fire Station. He said the helicopter crashed upside down, appearing to have left the large debris field.
The pilot, nurses and paramedics were taken to the hospital and were in danger, he said. No one on the highway was injured, he said, “blowing my mind” considering the helicopter crashed in the middle of the highway.
“People reported that they basically saw the helicopter go down quickly, so all of the traffic slowed down,” Sylvia said.
One of the injured was trapped under a helicopter, and a small fire station crew was able to work with people on the highway to drive out the woman and get her into an ambulance.
“It took just enough for all 15 ounces to lift that aircraft enough to drive her out,” he said.
The helicopter didn’t set fire, Sylvia said.
The crash closed the eastbound lane of Highway 50, according to General Mike Carrillo, a spokesman for the Valley Division of the California Highway Patrol.
The aircraft is a Reach Air Medical Helicopter, which said in a statement that it “influences our thoughts and prayers.”
“We are in the process of determining the details of this situation and the status of the crew members involved.
Images posted online could be seen backed up just behind a crashed helicopter.
“The cause of the crash is still under investigation,” Carrillo said, adding that the emergency crew and CHP are on the scene.
Sacramento City Councilman Lisa Kaplan said she was riding with law enforcement in response to crashing, and she said there was white smoke coming out of the crashed helicopter.
“It’s really calm and plain. I’m flying with the sheriff pilot I do every day today. And it really makes you appreciate every day and thank our officers and our medical pilots,” she said.
