1 police officer dead, 1 hurt in offshore helicopter crash

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Authorities are investigating the cause of a police helicopter crash along the Southern California coast that  killed one officer and sent another to the hospital with critical injuries. The Huntington Beach Police Department said the officers were responding to a disturbance Saturday evening when the helicopter hit the water. Witnesses said boaters who saw the aircraft go down rushed to pull the officers out of the helicopter, which ended upside down in shallow water. Police Chief Eric Parra said 44-year-old Officer Nicholas Vella died in the crash. He was a 14-year veteran with the department. The second officer was released from the hospital Sunday.