An air ambulance drew a small crowd Saturday afternoon when it landed in the parking lot of Trinity Assembly of God church in Fruitland Park.
Officers from the Fruitland Park Police Department and a crew from Fruitland Park Fire Rescue were on hand to make sure the landing zone was safe as the Orlando Health Air Care chopper set down after 4 p.m. The crew then waited for a Lake EMS ambulance to arrive at the church with a medical patient who needed some type of specialty care.
The ambulance, escorted by a Leesburg Fire Rescue engine, arrived a short time later. The emergency vehicles came from a neighborhood off Picciola Avenue and made the short trip to the church, where the patient was quickly transferred into the back section of the medical helicopter. It then quickly took off and headed for an unknown hospital.
Air Care helicopters are a common site in the tri-county area. In October, a similar situation involving another medical patient unfolded in the parking lot of the Fruitland Park Plaza. In that incidence, a crowd gathered outside the Dollar General store and the NY Deli & Diner to watch as the helicopter rushed the woman to a nearby medical facility.
The Air Care Team began operations on Oct. 13, 1984 and completed their first scene flight and patient flight about a month later. Since then, the team has flown more than 27,000 patients with more than 1.7 million accident-free rescue mission miles.
