Boy Airlifted From Remote Sonoma County Crash Site

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — A Sonoma County sheriff's helicopter crew airlifted a patient from the scene of a car crash near Petaluma, a spokesperson with the sheriff's office said.

It happened around 3:50 p.m. Wednesday when Henry-1 was on air patrol over Rohnert Park and heard a dispatch from REDCOM, which is Sonoma County's fire/emergency service dispatch center, about a collision on Chileno Valley Road in a remote area outside Petaluma, the spokesperson said.

Within 3 minutes, Henry-1 arrived and landed in a nearby field. A sheriff’s office paramedic and tactical flight officer who is required to be an EMT was lowered to the scene. As the first medical resource on the scene, the paramedic from Henry-1 began treating whom they believed was the most critical patient — a 16-year-old boy who was ejected from a car, the spokesperson said.

Emergency medical personnel from the Petaluma Fire Department, Gold Ridge Fire Department and Sonoma County Fire District soon arrived and began treating the other patients.

Because of the remote location, the Henry-1 crew and the incident commander determined the safest and quickest way to transport the patient was by helicopter, the spokesperson said. Henry-1 flew the boy in stable condition to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.