A Life Flight medical helicopter had to leave the scene of an Oregon car crash on U.S. Interstate 5 last week after a civilian drone got in the way.

On Friday, the driver of a Hyundai Santa Fe crashed after trying to avoid rear-ending another car. Both of his passengers were ejected, and he was trapped under his vehicle, according to Oregon State Police, who believe none of the occupants were wearing seat belts.

After police and other drivers lifted the car off him, driver Dustin Andrew Brown, 45, of Sweet Home, Oregon, was declared dead at the scene. First responders then called a medical airlift for the two 19-year-old passengers, Mr. Brown’s daughter Olivia Shannon Matney and Matthew Jay Martinez Mendez.

The helicopter had to be called off after a civilian drone kept hovering about 30 feet above the scene.

“It is an absolute helpless feeling knowing that somebody is flying the drone in an area where we have emergency personnel all around. If that drone were to hit that helicopter, the likelihood is the drone would probably get broken up into little pieces, but there’s also that other likelihood that they could cause that helicopter to crash,” Halsey-Shedd Fire Capt. Sean Johnson told Eugene ABC affiliate KEZI.

Life Flight Network spokeswoman Natalie Hannah told The Oregonian that flying and landing around drones “is a large safety risk we do not undertake.”

OSP couldn’t confirm to KEZI the state of Ms. Matney and Mr. Mendez, who were taken to the hospital via ambulance. The operator of the drone is under investigation.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.