Five Los Angeles County deputies and a doctor were injured Saturday after a helicopter crashed near Azusa and Glendora, California.
The crew including the deputies and a doctor from UCLA were reportedly responding to a call from the L.A. County Fire Department about a patient who was injured during a car accident, the Los Angeles Times reported. (RELATED: Two Helicopters Crash On Either Side Of Country. One Police Officer Dies, Several Others Injured)
. @LACoSheriff held a press conference from Pomona Valley Hospital to update the public on the downed rescue helicopter in the Angeles National Forest area. A total of 5 LASD Personnel and 1 civilian were on board and all are expected to survive. pic.twitter.com/npia4QOtAT
— LA County Sheriffs (@LASDHQ) March 20, 2022
The crash occurred around 4:52 p.m. when the helicopter began to experience a malfunction, which caused it to crash from a 200-foot drop near the Morris Dam in Angeles National Forest, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“We don’t know if it was mechanical, environmental, what they call a brownout, a wind change, but as they were trying to descend … they suffered a hard landing and a rollover,” Sheriff Alex Villanueva said, according to KTLA.
Villanueva added by saying that the fact that they did not crash closer to the drop off or that nothing caught fire was “nothing short of a miracle,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
All five deputies had sustained injuries including one who was critically injured. Two sustained moderate injuries and two others sustained minor injuries. The condition of the doctor who was present in the crash was not released to the public, according to Fox 5 San Diego.
The five deputies were transported to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center where all of them are reportedly in stable condition, according to Fox 2.
The victims who were injured in the car crash which the crew originally responded to were transported on the ground with minor injuries, according to CBS Los Angeles.
The cause of the helicopter’s malfunction is still under investigation.