Matt Molnar
2007-07-27, 04:35 PM
3 Dead As Two Helicopters Tracking Police Pursuit Crash (http://www.kpho.com/news/13770683/detail.html)
POSTED: 12:55 pm PDT July 27, 2007
UPDATED: 1:30 pm PDT July 27, 2007
PHOENIX -- Two television station helicopters tracking a high-speed police pursuit crashed Friday killing at least three people.
The helicopters collided in mid-air over Steele Indian School Park while filming the pursuit for Channels 3 and 15.
KNXV-TV Channel 15 reported that one of the choppers belonged to the station. The other chopper was from KTVK Channel 3 in Phoenix.
Video from the scene showed flames and thick black smoke from where both helicopters cashed.
Just before the crashes, the driver of the truck police had been chasing had jumped out of the nearly disabled flatbed pickup and carjacked another truck.
"I was driving and heard a bang," one witness told CBS 5 News.
"I was standing out on Central Avenue and I was looking over to the park and saw the helicopters get close," Jerry Fender said. "The blue one split and went down. The red or orange one went right after it." Fender said he didn't see them crash.
Stay with KPHO.com for late-breaking details.
POSTED: 12:55 pm PDT July 27, 2007
UPDATED: 1:30 pm PDT July 27, 2007
PHOENIX -- Two television station helicopters tracking a high-speed police pursuit crashed Friday killing at least three people.
The helicopters collided in mid-air over Steele Indian School Park while filming the pursuit for Channels 3 and 15.
KNXV-TV Channel 15 reported that one of the choppers belonged to the station. The other chopper was from KTVK Channel 3 in Phoenix.
Video from the scene showed flames and thick black smoke from where both helicopters cashed.
Just before the crashes, the driver of the truck police had been chasing had jumped out of the nearly disabled flatbed pickup and carjacked another truck.
"I was driving and heard a bang," one witness told CBS 5 News.
"I was standing out on Central Avenue and I was looking over to the park and saw the helicopters get close," Jerry Fender said. "The blue one split and went down. The red or orange one went right after it." Fender said he didn't see them crash.
Stay with KPHO.com for late-breaking details.