SACRAMENTO — (PSN) A helicopter crash on U.S. Highway 50 near the 59th Street off-ramp in Sacramento prompted a full freeway shutdown Monday evening, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Emergency dispatchers began receiving multiple 911 calls around 7:05 p.m. reporting that a helicopter had gone down on the eastbound lanes of Highway 50, just west of Howe Avenue. Initial reports indicated that the aircraft was an air ambulance carrying three crew members.
According to CHP incident logs, fire crews arrived to find the helicopter in the roadway with all lanes blocked. One crew member was reported pinned inside the wreckage. Firefighters extricated the trapped individual and transported all three occupants to a local hospital in critical condition.
CHP established a command post and implemented a SigAlert for the full closure of eastbound Highway 50 at Stockton Boulevard shortly after 7:40 p.m. Traffic was diverted onto Highway 99 and nearby surface streets while crews worked to secure the scene.
At approximately 9:12 p.m., the CHP confirmed that all eastbound lanes remained closed as investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) were en route. Media staging was directed to the Stockton Boulevard on-ramp to eastbound 50.
No vehicles were involved beneath the helicopter, according to CHP radio traffic. Crews from Sacramento Fire, Caltrans, and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office assisted at the scene.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation by federal aviation authorities.
Highway 50 eastbound remained closed late into Monday night while emergency and recovery operations continued.