Four Injured in Chicago Medical Chopper Crash
By Hannah Leone
Source Chicago Tribune
At least four people, including a patient, were taken to Chicago hospitals after an air ambulance helicopter crash-landed along Interstate 57 in the city’s Fernwood neighborhood, Chicago Fire Department officials said.
The original patient was in critical condition, while three crew members were stable, said Deputy District Chief Walter Schroeder.
The Eurocopter 135 air ambulance crashed about 9:15 p.m. due to unknown circumstances, according to a statement released by the Federal Aviation Administration, which stated it was sending investigators to the scene.
The red helicopter appeared to have landed on its belly in the grassy median where the interstate splits, near Wentworth Avenue between 98th and 99th streets.
The cause of the crash is under investigation, said Fire Department Deputy District Chief Lynda Turner. “I think the pilot did an excellent job of landing a helicopter that was in an emergency situation,” she said.
The pilot made a mayday call before landing, Schroeder said.
Three of the four on board had already made it out of the helicopter when firefighters arrived, Turner said. They got the last patient out and took two to Christ Hospital and two to the University of Chicago Medical Center, she said.
People gathered along an overpass south of the scene, watching as law enforcement cars lined up along the interstate and trying to catch a glimpse of the fallen helicopter.
Among the onlookers were Nadira and Mike Crown, who said they were walking their dog in their Beverly neighborhood when they started hearing sirens. They returned home and turned on the TV, and after learning of the helicopter crash, they drove to the overpass.
They were simply curious, “just gawking,” Mike Crown said.
Fire companies were transporting the patients as Illinois State Police secured the scene, the Fire Department tweeted.
The National Transportation Safety Board was notified, according to the FAA.
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