3 dead after news helicopter crashes while covering fatal L.A. bus collision

A news helicopter crashed in the Chatsworth community of Los Angeles while it was covering a bus collision Tuesday evening, killing three people, officials said.
The aircraft crashed in a parking lot at or near a self-storage facility in the community, which is in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department and news video on the ground from NBC Los Angeles.
The helicopter was operated by Angel City Air and affiliated with the station, which said earlier on the air that it had lost contact with those on board.

“We knew it was a news chopper, we knew we’d lost contact with our people out there, and we’ve just received the confirmation that, in fact, News Chopper 4 went down just before 7 o’clock tonight in Chatsworth,” anchor Colleen Williams said.

“We’re going to take a couple of minutes to think about that, to process and to regroup,” Williams added, her voice at times emotional.

Angel City Air, which describes itself as “a full-service aerial production company,” did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday night.

Three people were dead at the scene, and two others were taken to the hospital, Fire Battalion Chief Rico A. Gross said at a late-night news conference. Their conditions were unavailable.

One of the deceased appeared to be a pedestrian on the ground when the crash happened, Fire Capt. Branden Silverman said earlier.

The helicopter crash occurred after two people were killed and others were injured in a crash between a Los Angeles Metro bus and a passenger vehicle on Nordhoff Street, according to the fire department.