A family is remembering a Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue flight paramedic who was killed in Monday's helicopter crash in Pompano Beach.
Capt. Terryson Jackson was one of three crewmembers aboard the helicopter when it crashed into an apartment complex while responding to the scene of a vehicle crash. The 50-year-old was a 19-year veteran of the department.
In a phone interview with NBC6 Tuesday, father Oliver Jackson said he spoke with his son about an hour before the crash.
"We had just spoken an hour before that incident, and I mean he was doing well, he was excited about going to work, and he said to me, 'Dad, I will call you, I will speak later,'" Oliver Jackson said. "And then, we haven't had a conversation since, and the travesty is we are not gonna have a conversation again."
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Oliver Jackson said his son was very comfortable flying in the helicopter and loved serving people. He said he was a dedicated worker and a devoted father who cherished his family.
"We're really, really truly proud of him," he said.
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Jackson and two crewmembers - 37-year-old pilot Daron Roche and 31-year-old paramedic Mikael Chaguaceda - were on the helicopter when it went down shortly after lifting off Monday morning.
Cell phone footage from a witness showed smoke and flames coming from the helicopter before it spun around and quickly fell from the sky. The tail of the chopper appeared to be damaged and coming apart as it made its downward spiraling descent.
Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony said the helicopter crew experienced a mechanical issue and put out a distress signal as a fire broke out on board shortly after it was in the air.
The helicopter crashed into a one-story multi-unit apartment building, killing a woman who was inside her home.
Roche and Chaguaceda were able to crawl to safety, but Jackson died at the scene.
"Unfortunately, in the crash, he was trapped, could not get out, and we lost him," Tony said.
Two other people who were in the apartment building were injured and hospitalized, along with Roche and Chaguaceda. All were expected to survive.
Tony said he knew Jackson personally.
"Terryson was a rock star, he was one of the best of us, one of the brighest, he bled this profession inside and out, all day long," Tony said.
In a statement Tuesday, Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue said Jackson had been posthumously promoted to battalion chief.
Oliver Jackson expressed gratitude toward BSO for their support, and said they're trying to find comfort in the memory of their son.
"We're distraught over his death, but the life he lived, and the responsibility that he had towards humanity, we are truly delighted in the life that he lived," he said.
The wreckage of the helicopter was being removed Tuesday from the Pompano Beach neighborhood where it crashed. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
