5 hospitalized after helicopter crashes in Huntington Beach, California
Five people were injured and rushed to hospitals after a helicopter crashed in Huntington Beach, California, on Saturday.
The helicopter came down around 2 p.m. local time in a beach parking lot between Twin Dolphins Drive and Beach Boulevard, according to city officials.
Videos taken by bystanders showed the wreckage lodged in palm trees near a hotel.
Two people were pulled from the helicopter wreckage and three others on the ground were hurt, a city of Huntington Beach spokesperson said in a statement.
The victims were all taken to area hospitals in unknown conditions, the spokesperson said.
The city said in a news release the helicopter was associated with a "Cars and Copters" event scheduled for Sunday.
There's no word yet on a cause of the crash.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have been notified, the city said.
Timothy Bartlett said he was filming a TikTok video of helicopters landing when he captured the moment of the crash.
"I was stunned," Bartlett said. "As soon as I saw it spinning, I knew it was going to crash because it just didn't look right, and I knew something was wrong."
People ran to the site of the crash and police started moving everyone back, Bartlett told ABC News. From what he witnessed, he said it appeared a tail rotor broke off from the helicopter.
Bartlett said that while the helicopter did not burst into flames, he saw what appeared to be helicopter fuel leak out.
"I just was hoping, praying that everyone was OK," Bartlett said.
