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Final Flight Honors REACH Nurse Suzie Smith After Sacramento Helicopter Crash

Federal investigators are examining the Highway 50 crash that left the pilot and paramedic in critical condition.

Overview

  • Family, first responders and community members escorted Smith in a ceremonial flight from Sacramento to Red Bluff, followed by a ground procession to a Palo Cedro funeral home.
  • Smith’s family says they will create the Our Angel that Flies Foundation to support mission work and nursing scholarships in her name.
  • Pilot Chad Millward and flight paramedic Margaret “DeDe” Davis remain hospitalized in critical condition at UC Davis Medical Center, and officials have said they are expected to survive.
  • The REACH helicopter crashed onto eastbound Highway 50 on Oct. 6 shortly after departing UC Davis Medical Center following a patient drop-off, and no patient was aboard.
  • The FAA and NTSB, working with the California Highway Patrol, have opened an investigation and have not identified a cause, as bystanders and firefighters described lifting wreckage to free a trapped crew member.