Motorists lift medical helicopter to rescue woman after crash injuring 3 on California highway

A medical helicopter crashed on a highway in California’s capital, critically injuring three people aboard, including a woman who was pinned underneath and rescued with the help of motorists who lifted part of the aircraft, officials said.

The helicopter landed upside down Monday evening, leaving debris scattered across State Route 50 east of downtown Sacramento. The aircraft had departed a hospital after dropping off a patient when it experienced an “in-air emergency” and went down just after 7 p.m., said Captain Justin Sylvia with the Sacramento Fire Department.

A pilot, nurse, and paramedic were taken to hospitals in critical condition, he added. Fortunately, no one on the highway was injured—a fact he called “mind blowing” given that the helicopter crashed in the center of the eastbound lanes.

“People reported that they basically saw the helicopter kind of going down quickly. So all the traffic slowed down,” Sylvia said.

An injured woman was trapped underneath the helicopter. Fire department crews, working alongside motorists, managed to push the aircraft just enough to free her and get her into an ambulance. “It took every ounce of all approximately 15 people to move that aircraft up just enough to get her out,” he explained.

Aimee Braddock was among those who helped at the scene. She told KCRA-TV that she rushed over after seeing the helicopter plummet to the pavement.

“As soon as I saw that everybody was moving to try to push the helicopter out to help the first responders get to the passenger, I just ran over and got in the line of people and was just pushing it as much as I could,” Braddock recounted. “Then we held it for several minutes, so the first responder could get the person out.”

Captain Sylvia confirmed that the helicopter did not catch on fire.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash of the Airbus EC-130 T2 helicopter.

Eastbound lanes of State Route 50 were closed throughout the night and reopened Tuesday morning.

The aircraft belonged to REACH Air Medical, which released a statement expressing sympathy for those involved. “We are keeping all those impacted in our thoughts and prayers,” the company said.

“We are in the process of determining the details of this situation, as well as the condition of the REACH crew involved, who were all taken to area hospitals,” the statement added.

Sacramento City Councilwoman Lisa Kaplan, who was on a ride-along with law enforcement responding to the crash, reported seeing plumes of white smoke coming from the downed helicopter.

“It’s really sombering and sobering. I am up flying with sheriff pilots that do this day in and day out. And it really makes you grateful for every day and grateful for our officers and our medical pilots,” she said.

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Associated Press writers Christopher Weber in Los Angeles and Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.
https://fox5sandiego.com/news/world-news/ap-international/ap-motorists-lift-medical-helicopter-to-rescue-woman-after-crash-injuring-3-on-sacramento-highway/

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