California fire captain enlists motorists to lift downed chopper after hearing trapped medic groan
A medical helicopter is shown after it crashed on Highway 50 Monday, Oct. 6, 2025, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Marshall)
“Lift!”: Bystanders and Fire Captain Unite to Save Paramedic Trapped Beneath Crashed Helicopter
Moments after a medical helicopter slammed onto a California highway, Sacramento Fire Capt. Peter Vandersluis faced a life-or-death decision. A paramedic lay trapped beneath the mangled aircraft — and time was running out.
With emergency crews still minutes away, Vandersluis turned to the stunned bystanders gathering at the scene. “Lift!” he shouted. About 15 drivers dropped everything, forming an impromptu rescue team on State Route 50, just east of downtown Sacramento.
“When I yelled ‘lift,’ they did,” Vandersluis recalled to The Associated Press. “They didn’t hesitate. Just instinct. Everyone moved as one — and we got her out.”
The group raised the wreckage high enough for firefighters to crawl underneath. One firefighter cut through the paramedic’s seat belt and pulled her free — all within 60 seconds. Then, just as calmly, the crowd lowered the helicopter back down.
“It was incredible,” Vandersluis said. “I’ve never led civilians like that before, but after nearly 20 years on the job, you just know what needs to be done.”
The paramedic, pilot, and flight nurse — all members of a REACH Air Medical Services crew — were rushed to nearby hospitals in critical condition after the Airbus EC-130 T2 went down shortly after 7 p.m. Monday. The helicopter had just left a hospital after transporting a patient when it suffered what officials called an “in-air emergency.”
Witnesses say the aircraft descended rapidly before slamming into the highway’s center lanes. Despite the chaos, no drivers were hurt — a fact firefighters described as “mind-blowing.”
“People saw it coming down and hit their brakes just in time,” said Capt. Justin Sylvia of the Sacramento Fire Department.
Among the rescuers was Aimee Braddock, who rushed from her car to help. “Everyone just ran toward it,” she told KCRA-TV. “We got in line, pushed as hard as we could, and held it while they pulled her out. It felt like forever — but we did it.”
White smoke billowed from the wreckage, though Vandersluis clarified it came from the helicopter’s onboard fire suppression system, not flames.
The NTSB and FAA are now investigating the crash. REACH Air Medical Services issued a statement expressing concern for their injured crew, saying they were “keeping all those impacted in our thoughts and prayers.”
Among those who witnessed the aftermath was Sacramento City Councilwoman Lisa Kaplan, who happened to be flying with sheriff pilots that night. “It was sobering,” she said. “You see what these crews risk every day — and you realize how fragile life really is.”
For Vandersluis and the strangers who became rescuers, one word changed everything: “Lift.”
