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Plane crash kills veteran L.A. firefighter, injures child

Brian Lee, a helicopter pilot and firefighter-medic with the LAFD, was killed and a boy passenger is in critical condition

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Photo courtesy Los Angeles Fire Department

Los Angeles Times

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, Calif. — A Los Angeles Fire Department pilot was killed in a single-engine plane crashed Monday at El Mirage Dry Lake in San Bernardino County.

Fire officials identified the pilot as Brian Lee, 47. A child passenger was also hurt.

Lee, who was a helicopter pilot and parademic, was killed in the crash that occurred around 11:30 a.m. Tracy Martinez, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Fire Department, told local media that the plane struck the ground and flipped numerous times.

The boy is no older than 10, officials said.

The initial report of the crash misidentified the plane as a helicopter.

It is unclear how severely the boy, who officials described as no more than 10, was injured. Shortly before noon, San Bernardino fire officials tweeted that two victims were being airlifted to a hospital after the crash of a small plane.

According to a post about Lee’s death on the LAFD’s official blog, off-duty colleagues witnessed the crash and rushed to help.

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