At least three people are critically injured after a medical helicopter crashed onto a Sacramento highway on Monday evening.
The aircraft came plummeting down onto the busy Highway 50, which runs East from the California city until the Nevada state line near Lake Tahoe, just after 7 pm local time.
Officials said it was a REACH medical helicopter. Sacramento Fire told KCRA there was no patient on the aircraft, but there was a pilot, nurse and paramedic on board.
Captain Justin Sylvia with Sacramento Fire said all three crew members were taken to the hospital with critical injuries.
California High Patrol (CHP) logs indicated that one vehicle was crushed underneath the helicopter, The Sacramento Bee reported.
But about 15 bystanders rushed to help lift the helicopter off one trapped individual, and were able to remove them, officials said.
A flight tracker has indicated that the Airbus H-130 helicopter had departed from the roof of UC Davis Medical Center just minutes before the crash.
Authorities are still probing the incident and said there are several injured victims.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for comment.
Authorities are still probing the incident (pictured) and said there are several injured victims. At least three people have sustained critical injuries
Sacramento City Councilmember Lisa Kaplan shared a picture of the crowded highway, urging people to ‘stay off’ the road, and announced it is closed in both directions
A spokesperson for REACH, which is based at McClellan Airport, declined to discuss the crash with The Sacramento Bee.
The freeway remains shut down, with bone-chilling images snapped by passengers stuck in their cars depicting the black-smoke filled sky near where the helicopter landed.
Sacramento City Councilmember Lisa Kaplan shared a picture of the crowded highway, urging people to ‘stay off’ the road, and announced it is closed in both directions.
In another X post, she sent her thoughts to the victims and first responders: ‘I pray for all in the crash. Thank our officers & all whom pilot for their public service.’
Several injuries have been reported following a dramatic helicopter crash onto a Sacramento highway on Monday evening
One video, taken by someone stuck on the freeway, shows the chaotic aftermath of the accident, with vehicles slowly inching forward on the road as the smoke shows no signs of letting up.
A picture taken at the crash site shows investigators standing in front of the ruins.
The debris from the red helicopter – flipped upside down – is seen scattered across several lanes.
