Pilot in helicopter that crashed in Sacramento identified as retired CHP officer, pilot
By Tori Apodaca
The crew members on board the medical helicopter that came crashing onto Highway 50 in Sacramento were identified on Wednesday.
The REACH 5 medical team said the pilot, Chad Millward, and paramedic, Margaret “DeDe” Davis, are in critical but stable condition and the nurse, Susan “Suzie” Smith, is in critical, unstable condition.
The California Highway Patrol confirmed that Chad Millward is a respected, retired CHP officer and pilot. His 28 years of service in life-or-death situations prepared him to manage to miss every single driver on Highway 50 when the medical helicopter he was flying Monday night came crashing down. No one on the ground was hurt.
“It sounds like he did an excellent job,” said Mary Beaver, who has been friends with the nurse who was on board for over 30 years. “The best he could.”
Beaver also worked with Suzie for many years and said she is a woman of God who is dedicated to her medical missionary work in Nicaragua.
“I was stunned and then to find out it was our helicopter from our hospital, I was stunned,” Beaver said. “We are just a big group. You become family when you’ve been working with people for that long.”
Beaver believes Suzie was ejected from the helicopter and shared what she knew about the paramedic, DeDe, who was on board.
“The other gal, the one that goes by DeDe, she is the one that the 15 bystanders, thank God, for them lifted the helicopter off,” Beaver said.
CBS Sacramento obtained video that shows the good Samaritans in action, lifting a massive, mangled helicopter to free the crew member trapped beneath.
“They are just wonderful people, and like I said, they are always helping people,” Beaver said.
The three helpers who saved people’s lives for a living are now fighting for their own lives.
“During his nearly 28-year distinguished career with the CHP, Officer Millward demonstrated courage and selflessness, earning the Governor’s Public Safety Medal of Valor for his heroic life-saving actions during the 2017 Atlas Fire,” the CHP said in a statement. “His service and commitment to protecting others serve as a testament to the highest ideals of this Department.”
The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
The Shasta Regional Medical Center is holding a candlelight vigil at 7 p.m. on Thursday to honor the three members who were on board.
