A medical helicopter crashed on Highway 50 in Sacramento on Monday evening, critically injuring three crew members and leaving one woman trapped beneath the wreckage until motorists helped lift the aircraft to free her.
The helicopter had just dropped off a patient at a hospital and was returning to base when it experienced an 'in-air emergency' at around 7pm local time, according to Justin Sylvia, a spokesman for the Sacramento Fire Department. The aircraft landed upside down in the centre of the highway, scattering debris across the road.
Fire crews and roughly 15 members of the public worked together to lift the helicopter enough to extricate the woman, who was one of three people on board. All three – a pilot, a nurse, and a paramedic – were taken to hospital in critical condition. No one on the ground was injured, a fact Mr Sylvia described as 'mind-blowing'.
The crash closed the eastbound lanes of Highway 50, causing a long tailback. The helicopter belonged to Reach Air Medical, which said in a statement that it was 'keeping all those affected in our thoughts and prayers' and was investigating the incident. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Lisa Kaplan, a Sacramento city council member who was on a ride-along with law enforcement, said she saw plumes of white smoke from the wreckage and described the scene as 'sobering'.
