A news reporter and pilot died after an NBC helicopter crashed near the scene of a deadly bus collision in Los Angeles.
RadarOnline.com can reveal NBC4 Los Angeles reporter Eliana “Eli” Moreno and pilot George Marciniw have been identified as the two people in the aircraft killed in the accident, after the chopper came down in a parking lot in Chatsworth at 7pm Tuesday.
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Colleagues Mourn Popular Duo
Colleagues sent their heartfelt condolences to the families of Moreno and Marciniw.
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The NewsChopper4 was flying over the area between two warehouses at the intersection of Nordhoff Street and DeSoto Avenue, near where an SUV crashed into a bus earlier in the night, when it suddenly lost altitude and plunged to the ground.
Authorities also confirmed a third person died on the ground, while another pedestrian was transported to a local hospital in an unknown condition.
NBC4 and Telemundo said in a statement on Tuesday night: “We are deeply saddened to share that a helicopter providing aerial news coverage for NBC4 and Telemundo 52 was involved in a fatal accident in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives.”
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Announcing Fatalities On Air
Anchor Colleen Williams reveals on air a NewsChopper 4 had crashed.
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The helicopter was operated by Angel City Air and affiliated with NBC Los Angeles, which broadcast 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, NewsChopper 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 becoming emotional.
Reporter Moreno was born in Orange County, south of L.A., and graduated from its Chapman University with a degree in broadcast journalism and political science in 2010.
She joined Angel City Air’s helicopter team the same year and has reported for multiple Southern California news outlets.
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Helicopter Flames Spread To Nearby Vehicles
The helicopter was one of multiple aircraft covering the bus crash.
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Marciniw also grew up in Southern California, where he graduated from Burbank High School
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.
The bus crash happened at 5.03pm and that firefighters worked to free the trapped people and assess the bus passengers.
The helicopter was one of multiple aircraft covering the crash.
Fire and police personnel were nearby, according to Fire Capt. Branden Silverman.
They rushed to the crash, reported shortly before 7pm, and found the helicopter engulfed in flames, which had spread to nearby parked vehicles, he added.
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L.A. mayor Karen Bass described the accident as a ‘heartbreaking night for out city.’
L.A. mayor Karen Bass described the accident as a “heartbreaking night for out city.”
Witness Zareh Sevanesian was driving nearby with wife Allyona when he saw the chopper’s unusual descent.
“As we were driving I looked over to my left,” he said. “I saw the helicopter — something didn’t look right. And I told my wife, ‘That helicopter is not flying right.'”
Sevanesian said he saw the helicopter gradually losing altitude. Then, he said, he pulled over near the crash as fire roared.
“It was one of the most violent fires I had ever seen,” Sevanesian recalled.
He said he soon found a person down near the wreckage and three others “screaming uncontrollably.”
“It was very terrifying and sad for everyone,” Allyona said.