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NEED TO KNOW
- The 11-year-old boy injured when a helicopter crashed in Huntington Beach, Calif. on Oct. 11 has been identified as Oliver Holland
- Holland underwent surgery for a collapsed lung and a brain bleed
- The boy was injured when the helicopter suddenly dropped from the sky and crashed near the Waterfront Beach Resort along Pacific Coast Highway
The boy injured in a helicopter crash on Oct. 11 in Huntington Beach, Calif., has been identified as 11-year-old Oliver Holland.
Holland’s family called him “the smartest, funniest boy” in a GoFundMe page started by his sister Madeline Ashwell. KTLA was first to report the news.
“Oliver was enjoying a day at the beach when suddenly a helicopter malfunctioned and came crashing down on him,” Ashwell wrote on the fundraiser page, adding that Oliver underwent surgery for a collapsed lung and a brain bleed after the “horrible accident.”
“We are praying for a safe recovery,” she continued.
The campaign has raised nearly $105,000 of its $120,000 goal. Ashwell said all of the proceeds will go to Oliver’s medical expenses.
In a video obtained by KTLA, the aircraft is seen hovering close the ground before it spins upward and drops out of the sky and crashes into the ground. Some witnesses rushed to the helicopter, where a child was seen trapped underneath.
The incident happened near the Waterfront Beach Resort along Pacific Coast Highwayon Oct. 11 around 2 p.m. local time.
The Huntington Beach Police Department (HBPD) confirmed in a statement shared on Facebook that five people transported to the hospital following the crash.
Eric Nixon was later identified as the pilot operating the aircraft, a 1980 Bell 222 helicopter that took off from Redlands Municipal Airport, according to The Orange County Register.
Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty
Nixon was also injured in the crash, his father-in-law Jerry Miller told The OC Register. “He’s in the hospital with some broken ribs, crushed vertebrae and several bruises,” Miller told the outlet.
Nixon has built a reputation on social media for being a daredevil pilot with clips on his Instagram often showing him performing stunts in helicopters, including low-level sprints, sharp turns and risky maneuvers while in the air, PEOPLE previously reported.
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A “helicopter landing party” preview to Sunday’s Cars ‘N Copters on the Coast event was taking place in the beach parking lots in front of the hotels at the time of the crash. City officials have confirmed the helicopter was affiliated with that event and said both the FAA and NTSB are investigating, per KTLA.
Car ‘N Copters went on as planned on Oct 12.