Photo: Broward Sheriff's Office
The Broward Sheriff's Office has identified one of the victims in the Monday (August 28) helicopter crash as Capt. Terryson Jackson, according to WPLG. Sheriff Gregory Tony said Jackson, 50, was one of three other fire rescue members onboard the aircraft when it was dispatched around 8:41 a.m. to a traffic crash in North Lauderdale.
Minutes after the helicopter took flight, the pilot, identified as 37-year-old Daron Roche, was forced to cancel their transport due to mechanical issues. BSO confirmed a fire broke out onboard, and the crew scrambled to extinguish it. Footage captured by witnesses shows the chopper gushing smoke before it spun out of control and crashed into an apartment building in Pompano Beach.
Officials said the helicopter went down into the area of North Dixie Highway and Atlantic Boulevard around 8:45 a.m., sparking a massive blaze.
“Unfortunately in the crash, he was trapped, could not get out, and we lost him,” Tony explained in a news conference. He added that Roche and the other paramedic, 31-year-old Mikael Chaguaceda, managed to crawl out of the wreckage to safety. They're currently hospitalized in fair condition.
Tony said he personally knew Jackson for nearly 15 years, and the captain has been on the force for 19 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,” the sheriff described. “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.”
BSO confirmed the aircraft did land on a woman living inside the apartment building, killing her. She hasn't been identified as of Tuesday morning (August 29). Two more civilians were rushed to the hospital, as well.
BSO also grounded all choppers that day for further inspection.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the crash.