Patient Dies Of Injuries From D.C. Copter Crash

A critically ill patient aboard a medical helicopter that crashed Tuesday near Washington Hospital Center died of injuries suffered in the accident, authorities said yesterday.

Steven Gaston, 51, was en route to the hospital for surgery when the helicopter began experiencing problems, authorities said. Hoping to minimize the danger, the pilot tried to make an emergency landing but crashed on the golf course at the nearby U.S. Armed Forces Retirement Home in Northwest Washington.

The pilot and two crew members also were injured in the late-afternoon crash. They were listed in serious condition last night with injuries that are not thought to be life-threatening. Emergency workers said the flight crew stayed focused after the accident, giving them advice about how to treat Gaston as they were being removed from the wreckage.

Gaston, who had a lengthy medical history, was so sick that doctors at Greater Southeast Community Hospital -- where he was initially admitted -- worried he would not survive unless he had surgery at the more advanced Washington Hospital Center, officials said. He was taken there after the crash and died late Tuesday.

Beverly Fields, a spokeswoman for the D.C. medical examiner, said an autopsy determined that Gaston died of trauma to his torso from the crash.

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the accident.

Gaston, a father of three who lived in the 2400 block of Elvans Road SE, had been battling a severe liver ailment for years and recently had broken a leg, family members said. He was in his wheelchair on a street in Southeast Washington on Tuesday afternoon when he began to cough up blood and was taken to Greater Southeast, said his brother Henry A. Gaston.

Doctors thought Steven Gaston had ruptured his stomach and intestines, his brother said.

Gaston's oldest daughter, Coleen Pastora, said she hopes investigators determine what caused the accident. She added that she thought the flight crew members did everything they could to save her father, a handyman who specialized in repairing cars.

"I just wasn't expecting this," said Pastora, 32. "He was wonderful. Life changes so quickly."

The pilot, Darryl Johnson, 58, a retired Army pilot from Damascus, Va., had surgery yesterday for damage to his spinal cord, hospital officials said. They said they did not expect the injuries to cause paralysis.

The flight medic, David Martin, 33, of Haymarket, broke ribs and fractured his spine. Neither injury required surgery. Martin is scheduled to get married in three weeks.