Update: Veteran FL Fire Captain, Civilian Killed in Helicopter Crash
David Goodhue
Miami Herald
(TNS)
A Broward Sheriff’s Office Fire-Rescue helicopter crashed in Pompano Beach Monday morning, killing a veteran fire captain and a resident of an apartment building hit by the flaming aircraft, firefighters say.
The chopper went down on U.S. 1 about 8:45 a.m. near Atlantic Boulevard, the sheriff’s office said. Pompano Beach Fire Rescue paramedics took four people to the hospital, that agency’s spokeswoman Sandra King said.
The helicopter was seen with smoke coming out of its tail section before it crashed into an apartment building near Pompano Airpark, where it’s based, King said.
The crash killed Capt. Terryson Jackson, 50, a 19 year veteran of BSO Fire-Rescue, the department said. A woman who lived in the building was also killed in the crash, BSO said. She has not been named.
The two people taken to the hospital were two people from the helicopter and two civilians, King said. They were taken to Broward Health North, and their injuries are not life-threatening, according to BSO.
The other BSO crew on the helicopter were pilot Daron Roche, 37, who has served in the department for four years, and paramedic Mikael Chaguaceda, 31, a five-year fire-rescue worker.
Sarah Taylor Sulick, a spokeswoman for the National Transportation Safety Board, the federal agency investigating the crash, said the helicopter was an Airbus EC 135T-1.
A resident of the eight-unit apartment building told CBS News Miami that she heard a loud crash and shortly afterward was ordered to leave the building.
A man who works near the crash site said he heard it and rushed to help, according to the Miami Herald news partner.
“The top of the roof was all fire. A big ball of fire,” said Ruben Chavez. “And then, a second explosion. I ran over there but the police, the first two cops who got there pushed us back and that’s when the second explosion happened. We felt the heat and that’s when we said we gotta go.”
©2023 Miami Herald. Visit miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
