Three people were killed on Tuesday evening when an NBC4 news helicopter crashed in Chatsworth, in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley, a short distance from where a Metro bus collision had already claimed three lives.

What happened

According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the helicopter came down around 7 p.m. between two commercial buildings in the 9100 block of Mason Avenue. When firefighters arrived, the aircraft was fully engulfed in flames and a thick column of black smoke was rising over the neighborhood. Crews knocked the fire down quickly, but four vehicles and two storage containers were damaged.

Shortly before 9 p.m., NBC4 confirmed on air that the helicopter was its own. Anchor Colleen Williams told viewers the newsroom would take a few minutes "to process and to regroup."

The victims

The station later confirmed that reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw died in the crash. On Wednesday, the coroner's office identified the third victim, a pedestrian on the ground, as 29-year-old Edy Gutierrez Mejia.

Moreno grew up in Orange County and studied broadcast journalism and political science at Chapman University. She had been reporting from news helicopters since 2010. Marciniw, a Southern California native and 1974 Burbank High School graduate, had been flying with Moreno since 2023.

Two other people were taken to the hospital: one after an apparent panic attack, and another whose condition was not released.

Reaction from city and state leaders

In a joint statement, NBC4 and Telemundo 52 said they were "deeply saddened" and offered condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who died.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called it "a heartbreaking night for our city," saying her thoughts were with everyone affected by both the bus collision and the helicopter crash. Gov. Gavin Newsom thanked first responders and said his heart was with the victims and "the entire NBC4 family."

What comes next

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the cause of the crash.

The helicopter went down only a few blocks from an earlier collision in which an SUV slammed into a Metro bus, leaving three people dead and several others injured.

Source: 6abc / ABC7, reported by Liz Nagy