Six injured after LA sheriff’s helicopter crashes in forest en route to car wreck rescue

Sheriff says ‘nothing short of a miracle’ that helicopter did not roll off the mountain

Six people have been injured when a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department helicopter crashed while responding to a car collision.

The helicopter was headed to the car crash on State Route 39 when it crashed near Azusa, a suburb west of downtown LA, on Saturday afternoon.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said at a press conference that the super puma helicopter “suffered a hard landing and a rollover” at about 5pm.

It came down in a mountainous area in the Angeles National Forest not far from the San Gabriel Reservoir.

Sheriff Villanueva said the helicopter came down a few feet from a 200-foot drop and that it was “nothing short of a miracle” that it did not roll off the mountain.

The aircraft was one of three helicopters operated by the LA County Sheriff’s Department, and the crew typically carries out between 500 and 700 rescues a year, the sheriff said.

The six people onboard the aircraft included sheriff’s deputies, two paramedics and a doctor.

All six people were taken to Pomona Valley Medical Center for treatment with one person in a critical condition, according to CNN. 

Mr Villanueva said the department was “very thankful that everyone survived,” and that “some (are) more banged up than others, but thankful to be alive”.

An investigation into what caused the helicopter to come down is underway, with the Federal Aviation Authority involved.

The helicopter crash is the second in a month in southern California after a Huntington Beach Police helicopter crashed in the water off Newport Beach, killing one passenger, reported The Los Angeles Times.