(KMJ) FRESNO- December 11,2015 – American Ambulance CEO Todd Valeri says the crew members killed were like a family.
Valeri identified the pilot and medical staff killed in the crash during a news conference Friday, December 11th.
49 year-old pilot Thomas Hampl was an employee of Rogers Helicopters, and was a very experienced pilot said Valeri.
42 year-old critical-care nurse, Marco Lopez, has been with the SkyLife team for three years, the same length as the flight paramedic, 37 year old Hanford resident Kyle Juarez (seen below), who had been with American Ambulance for nine years.
Valeri said Lopez was highly dedicated and had worked hard to get on the SkyLife team.
A female patient was being transported, but Valeri said he could not offer any details, citing patient confidentiality.
The SkyLife Air Ambulance H4 medevac helicopter crashed on Thursday, December 10th, halfway through the 20 minute flight, killing the three crew members and the critically ill female patient they were transporting.
American Ambulance was holding their Christmas party, Thursday night, and a nurse and paramedic originally assigned to the SkyLife helicopter had traded their shift with Lopez and Juarez to attend the party.
The helicopter took off at 6:52, from the Porterville Airport, on its way to San Joaquin Community Hospital in Bakersfield.
Dispatch did not hear from them at 7:04.p.m. for confirmation of a positioning point, but Valeri said that did not immediately concern them, but he said the dispatcher had a “feeling” and notified him that they lost contact.
They got confirmation the aircraft went down around 9:00 p.m., and he notified the employees at the party.
The helicopter crashed in an isolated area of Kern County near Highway 65 and Sherwood Avenue east of McFarland.
Valerie says he is grateful for all who have reached out to the company, from law enforcement agencies to EMS to hospitals – to offer their condolences.
The NTSB is investigating the crash but the details of the may not come to light for a while.
