Shots From Ground Wound Deputy Flying Helicopter

A San Bernardino County sheriff’s helicopter pilot was recovering from surgery Sunday after being shot twice from the ground by a man fleeing arrest, authorities said.

After Deputy Robert Hill was shot in the leg and hip by bullets that pierced the helicopter, he temporarily lost control of the craft, although he and his observer were able to make an emergency landing, said San Bernardino Sheriff’s Sgt. Rick Carr.

The chase began Saturday after the driver of a Ford Bronco traveling in an area known for car stripping failed to stop for Riverside County sheriff’s deputies.

When the Bronco reached I-15, the California Highway Patrol joined the chase and asked for help from the San Bernardino copter. The driver stopped the Bronco in the Lost Lake area, about 30 miles from where the pursuit began, and shot at the hovering helicopter with an assault rifle, deputies said.

The gunman then sped off, officials said, ramming a patrol car in a hail of gunfire and finally rolling the Bronco over a spiked strip, puncturing the tires.

Jerry Gazaway, 37, of Riverside, was being held on suspicion of two counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer. An unidentified woman passenger was not immediately arrested.

Gazaway was treated for a superficial shoulder wound from shattered glass after the Bronco’s windshield was hit by gunfire from deputies, Carr said.

Hill was airlifted to San Bernardino County Medical Center, where he underwent surgery and was listed in stable condition.