The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the crash occurred on Highway 50 near Howe Avenue just after 7:00 p.m., ABC 10 reported on Tuesday.
The aircraft fell out of the sky onto the highway.
The three individuals onboard the helicopter were identified as the pilot, a nurse, and a paramedic. They were listed in critical condition after the crash and taken to local hospitals for treatment.
“No bystanders were injured. Fire officials said the REACH Air Medical helicopter had just offloaded a patient at UC Davis Medical Center and was flying back when it went down,” the ABC article reported. “Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty said about 15 bystanders stepped in to help firefighters before additional units arrived, assisting in rescue efforts.”
Aerial video footage shows the crash site with the mangled helicopter and debris scattered all over the pavement:
According to Sacramento fire officials, one victim was trapped under the helicopter when it hit the ground and several people rushed over to help crews lift it off the person, KCRA reported.
A video shows the bystanders working to move the helicopter:
Authorities noted the crash did not result in a fire at the scene.
“Capt. Justin Sylvia, a spokesperson for the fire department, said the situation would have been much worse if the aircraft had ignited. That would have meant crews needing to transport water onto the freeway, and access was already a challenge for first responders because of heavy traffic at the time,” the KCRA article read.
One woman who helped lift the helicopter said, “It just plummeted out of the sky. It hit hard, obviously because it was falling. And then just instantaneous black smoke everywhere engulfed the whole thing,” adding she ran over to help along with others.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is also working on the investigation to determine what happened.
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