State helicopter crashes on drug patrol, injuring 3

<p>A helicopter being used to spot marijuana fields for the Gov.'s Task Force for Drug Suppression crashed Tuesday afternoon in northwest Georgia, injuring three people who managed to escape the wreckage and hobble away just before the chopper caught fire and exploded, the Georgia State Patrol said.</p><p>The injured officers were transported to Atlanta with broken bones and other non-life threatening injuries, the patrol said.</p><p>The Bell Jet Ranger piloted by a State Patrol officer crashed on a hill in some trees in Polk County several miles from the Alabama line shortly before 3 p.m. for reasons that were still unknown more than six hours later, said trooper Larry Schnall, a patrol spokesman.</p><p>The pilot, Cpl. David Doehla, Polk County sheriff's Capt. Kelly McLendon and retired patrol pilot Joe Wayne Zebeau "were able to unrestrain each other, get out of the aircraft and quickly hobble away," Schnall said. Moments later, the aircraft caught fire and exploded, he said.</p><p>Emergency management officials and local law enforcement responded to the emergency, along with other Gov.'s Task Force members on ground and by air, to get the injured to safety, Schnall said.</p><p>The Georgia Forestry Commission and local fire departments contained the blaze, he said.</p><p>The scene was preserved for an accident investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, he said.</p><p>Doehla, who had a broken leg and possibly a broken knee, and Zebeau, whose collarbone and shoulder were possibly broken, were transported to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, and McLendon was taken to Atlanta Medical Center, Schnall said. He did not know the specifics of McLendon's injuries but said all three had bumps and bruises.</p><p>Polk County chief deputy Al Sharp said the helicopter, one of several choppers used by the patrol for the joint state-local task force, was based at McCollum Field in Kennesaw.</p><p>Schnall said Polk County and neighboring Haralson County are "hot spots" for marijuana growing.</p>

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