After he died in a helicopter accident on Saturday night, a 14-year veteran of Huntington Beach Police Department was remembered Sunday. Another officer was also injured.
Divers have spent the day in the water looking for clues to the cause of the helicopter’s crash. The helicopter was captured by home security cameras spinning and hitting the water, almost immediately sinking in Newport Beach.
In minutes, a frantic rescue was underway, with firefighters, locals and lifeguards all trying to save the officers trapped under water.
Officer Nicholas Vella was not able to make it out, but one officer did. The 50-year-old officer who was the second one has been released from hospital.
First responders led a procession in honor of Vella with Vella’s casket covered in an American flag.
Hours earlier, a helicopter belonging to a private aviation company crashed into the Miami Beach water, dangerously close by the shoreline crowds. Two of the three victims were taken to hospital by relatives from abroad.
