Three people were critically injured after a helicopter providing air medical services crashed on Sacramento’s Highway 50 in northern California, on Monday evening, officials said.
The helicopter, run by REACH Air Medical Services, crashed shortly after 7pm on the eastbound lanes of Highway 50 near Howe Avenue, the Sacramento Fire Department said.
Three crew members who were on board were taken to hospitals for treatment, said SFD spokesperson Captain Justin Sylvia.
The helicopter had just delivered a patient to a nearby hospital and was returning to base when it experienced an “in-air emergency,” Sylvia said.
Those involved in the crash were a pilot, a nurse and a paramedic.
No vehicles on the freeway were involved in the crash, Sylvia said, calling that fact “mind-blowing” given that the helicopter crashed in the centre of a busy highway.
“People reported that they basically saw the helicopter kind of going down quickly,” he said. “So all the traffic slowed down.”
Pictures showed the craft lying on its side with debris strewn across the highway as responders worked on the scene.
Images from Highway 50 showed a long line of cars backed up just behind the crash site.
A female crew member was found trapped under the helicopter and two others were located in the roadway when the first unit of responders arrived from the fire department, Sylvia added.
The aircraft had to be lifted up with the help of a fire captain and around 15 bystanders to remove the trapped person before more units arrived at the scene.
REACH said it was working to confirm the condition of the crew.
“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 operator said in a statement. “We will continue to provide information as it becomes available.”
Sacramento mayor Kevin McCarty described the crash as “harrowing” and said the cause of the crash remains under investigation and has yet to be determined.
City Councilwoman Lisa Kaplan said she was on a ride-along with law enforcement responding to the crash and said there were plumes of white smoke coming out of the crashed 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.
The eastbound lanes of Highway 50 were shut down, according to officer Mike Carrillo, a spokesperson for the Valley Division of California Highway Patrol. Carrillo said residents should expect delays and use alternate routes.
“We ask the public to avoid the area and allow emergency crews to work safely,” he said.
One lane of eastbound Highway 50 has been reopened at 59th Street to allow for traffic to pass through, the California Highway Patrol said.
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