A California fire captain led a group of motorists in an extraordinary roadside rescue after a medical helicopter crashed on a Sacramento highway Monday evening, trapping a paramedic beneath the wreckage.
Sacramento Fire Capt. Peter Vandersluis said he quickly organized about 15 bystanders to help lift the downed aircraft after hearing a faint groan from the trapped medic.
“When I yelled ‘lift,’ they lifted. When I said ‘hold,’ they held,” Vandersluis told the Associated Press on Tuesday. “Out of pure instinct — they didn’t hesitate and followed every command. We lifted it with ease.”
The paramedic, along with a nurse and pilot on board, were rescued and taken to local hospitals in critical condition. The helicopter had just departed a hospital after dropping off a patient when it experienced an “in-air emergency” and crashed on State Route 50, east of downtown Sacramento, around 7 p.m.
Vandersluis, who was leading the first fire engine crew to reach the scene, realized additional rescuers would take too long to arrive.
“Once I heard the woman groan, I decided to call out for bystanders to help lift the helicopter off her,” he said.
A firefighter crawled under the wreckage, cut the paramedic’s seatbelt, and pulled her free as the group held the aircraft aloft for roughly 30 seconds. Within a minute, she was safely extracted, and the group gently lowered the helicopter back down.
Vandersluis, a nearly 20-year firefighting veteran, said it was the first time he had led civilians in such an emergency. “My training told me exactly what needed to be done,” he said. His engine crew had been responding to a nearby motorcycle accident when the helicopter went down, arriving within minutes by driving against traffic.
Several motorists were already out of their vehicles trying to assist when firefighters arrived.
Among them was Aimee Braddock, who told KCRA-TV she joined the effort without hesitation. “As soon as I saw people pushing the helicopter to help the responders, I just ran over and joined in,” she said. “We held it for several minutes until they got the person out.”
Firefighters said the helicopter did not catch fire, although white smoke was seen billowing from it — later identified as gas released by its onboard fire suppression system.
No motorists were injured, which Capt. Justin Sylvia of the Sacramento Fire Department called “mind-blowing,” given that the helicopter crashed in the center of a busy highway.
“Witnesses said they saw the helicopter descending fast, and traffic slowed down just in time,” Sylvia said.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are investigating the crash of the Airbus EC-130 T2 helicopter.
The aircraft belonged to REACH Air Medical Services, which said in a statement it was working to determine the cause of the crash and the condition of its crew.
“We are keeping all those impacted in our thoughts and prayers,” the company said.
Sacramento City Councilwoman Lisa Kaplan, who was accompanying law enforcement officers at the time, described seeing plumes of white smoke at the scene.
“It’s humbling and sobering,” she said. “Seeing what these medical pilots and first responders risk every day really makes you grateful for them — and for every day we have.”
Source: AP