'Terryson was a Rock Star,' FL Sheriff Says of Captain Killed in Chopper Crash

Broward Capt. Paramedic Terryson Jackson died doing the job he loved.

“If someone is in the back of my unit, they are possibly having one of the worst days of their life and it just helps me to sleep better at night knowing that during that time I can be there for them. Sometimes all they need is for me to hold their hands and let them know that they are in good hands and that everything is going to be OK,” he said in a video produced by the sheriff's office in 2020. 

Jackson, 50, was killed Monday morning when the Broward fire/rescue helicopter crashed while responding to a traffic wreck. Pilot Daron Roche, 37, and firefighter/paramedic Mikael “Mike” Chaguaceda, 31, managed to climb out of the flaming wreckage.

A woman in the apartment building that was hit also perished, Local 10 reported. 

Video showed the smoke and flames coming from the chopper moments before it crashed.

In the previous video, Jackson said he always knew he wanted to be an integral part of the medical field.

“I just wasn’t sure in what capacity. My mom’s a nurse and my dad’s a nurse . . . When I found out that I could be a paramedic and a firefighter . . . it was a done deal. This career chose me,” he said in the video.

Jackson started his journey in fire/rescue in 2004 at Deerfield Beach and joined the BSO in October 2011. 

Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony choked up during a press conference Monday as he spoke about personally knowing Jackson for the past 14 years.

“Terryson was a rock star. He was one of the best of us, one of the brightest. He bled this profession inside and out all day long. There’s almost 6,000 people in this agency. I’m not going to meet everybody and I haven’t, but that man I knew. I knew very well. And the type of effort and commitment he had for this community – impeccable."

Tony also remembered his friend in a tribute: “As a flight paramedic, he impacted the community daily, providing critical patients with the highest pre-hospital care. He consistently showed an unmatched passion for the job. He always provided expert care, compassion and reassurance to those during their most significant time of need.”