The devastating helicopter crash that killed aerial reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw claimed a third life — but the young man was not a member of the crew and had never stepped aboard the aircraft.
Edy Fernando Gutiérrez Mejia was simply on the ground.
The 29-year-old Guatemalan had been in Los Angeles for only two days when NewsChopper4 fell from the sky in Chatsworth on September 15, 2026. According to his family, he had traveled from Cuilapa, Guatemala, for a business trip: he planned to purchase vehicles in the United States and transport them home for resale. (NBC Los Angeles)
Instead, a terrible sequence of events placed him in the path of a tragedy he had nothing to do with.
His Name Was Edy — but His Loved Ones Knew Him as ‘Pichi’
Authorities publicly identified the third victim a day after the crash as Edy Fernando Gutiérrez Mejia, 29.
Back home in Cuilapa, he was better known by his nickname, “Pichi.”
His hometown publicly mourned him after news of his death reached Guatemala, with the Municipality of Cuilapa offering condolences and prayers to his grieving family. (NBC Los Angeles)
The photographs shared after his death reveal another side of the man behind the name.
He loved soccer and was remembered by those who knew him far removed from the horrifying circumstances that suddenly made his name part of an international news story.
For his family, he wasn’t “the third victim.”
He was Pichi.
He Had Been in Los Angeles for Only Two Days
Perhaps the cruelest detail is how briefly Edy had been in the city.
His cousin told Telemundo 52 that he had traveled from Guatemala to Los Angeles as part of a business trip. Family members said he came to collect vehicles that he planned to transport back to Guatemala. (telemundo52.com)
NBC Los Angeles reported that he had arrived only two days before his death. (NBC Los Angeles)
There was nothing connecting him to the news crew.
He wasn’t an NBC employee.
He wasn’t working with the helicopter company.
He wasn’t a passenger.
He simply happened to be near the place where NewsChopper4 came down.
The Helicopter Had Been Covering Another Tragedy
The chain of events began earlier Tuesday afternoon.
A deadly collision involving an SUV and a Metro bus occurred in Chatsworth. Two people were killed and several others were injured. The crash became a major breaking-news story, bringing NewsChopper4 into the air to provide aerial coverage for NBC4 and Telemundo 52. (AP News)
Inside the helicopter were veteran pilot George Marciniw and aerial photojournalist Eliana Moreno.
At approximately 7 p.m., while the crew was covering the aftermath of the bus collision, something went catastrophically wrong.
The helicopter descended and crashed in a commercial area near Nordhoff Street and Lurline Avenue, bursting into flames and damaging vehicles and storage containers. (TheWrap)
Moreno and Marciniw died.
So did Edy.
He Was Standing Near a Vehicle When the Aircraft Came Down
Reporting about Edy’s final moments paints an especially painful picture.
He was reportedly standing near a vehicle when the helicopter crashed into the area. He had no connection to the emergency unfolding in the air above him. (we are Mitú. 100% American & Latino)
Another pedestrian was hospitalized following the crash, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. (NBC Los Angeles)
The randomness of Edy’s death has become one of the most difficult aspects of the tragedy for those following the story.
Moreno and Marciniw had knowingly gone into the air as part of their jobs.
Edy had simply traveled thousands of miles from home on business.
Their lives intersected only in the final seconds.
His Family Came to the Scene
After learning what had happened, members of Edy’s family went to the crash site.
They spoke with Telemundo 52 and explained why the 29-year-old had traveled to Los Angeles.
He had come to pick up vehicles as part of a business operation and intended to bring them back to Guatemala. (telemundo52.com)
Those ordinary plans now make the story even harder to comprehend.
It was supposed to be a short trip.
He was supposed to return home.
Instead, his relatives found themselves standing outside the site of a helicopter disaster explaining to reporters how someone they loved had unexpectedly become one of its victims.
More Details About the Man Behind the Headlines Began Emerging
As news of Edy’s death reached Guatemala, tributes began appearing.
He was from Cuilapa, the capital of Guatemala’s Santa Rosa department, and friends and relatives knew him affectionately as Pichi. His hometown government publicly acknowledged his death and offered support to his family. (NBC Los Angeles)
Other reporting described him as a soccer enthusiast, while photographs circulating following his death showed him proudly holding a trophy.
The details may seem small.
Yet after a sudden tragedy, they’re often the details that matter most.
A nickname.
A favorite sport.
A photograph taken during a happier day.
A business trip that was supposed to end with a flight home.
They turn “the third victim” back into a person.
Investigators Are Still Trying to Determine Why the Helicopter Fell
As Edy’s family mourns, investigators are working to answer the question at the center of the disaster: Why did NewsChopper4 crash?
The National Transportation Safety Board has not yet established a probable cause.
Investigators have said video and audio captured during the helicopter’s final moments will be particularly important evidence. NTSB investigator Fabian Salazar described the onboard footage as potentially the most significant evidence available to investigators. (NBC Los Angeles)
The recording captured the helicopter’s final minutes, including alarms and the crew attempting to respond as the situation deteriorated. (AP News)
For now, however, any definitive explanation of what caused the aircraft to go down would be premature.
The investigation continues.
Five People Ultimately Died Across Two Connected Crashes
The scale of what happened in Chatsworth extends beyond the helicopter.
The initial SUV-bus collision killed two people. Roughly two hours later, the news helicopter covering that collision crashed and killed another three. (TheWrap)
That means five people lost their lives across the two connected tragedies.
The helicopter victims came from entirely different worlds.
Eliana Moreno was an experienced aerial journalist whose voice Southern California viewers had heard for years.
George Marciniw was a veteran pilot with decades of flying experience.
And Edy Gutiérrez Mejia was a 29-year-old visitor from Guatemala who happened to be standing below.
Back Home, They Are Remembering ‘Pichi’
For Edy’s loved ones, the circumstances of his death may always feel impossible to reconcile with the ordinary reason he came to Los Angeles.
He traveled to another country for work.
He had been there for two days.
He was planning to buy vehicles and return home.
Then, without warning, a news helicopter covering an entirely separate tragedy came down where he was standing. (NBC Los Angeles)
The Municipality of Cuilapa’s tribute asked for prayers and strength for the young man’s grieving family. (NBC Los Angeles)
And perhaps the most important part of that tribute is simply the name it uses.
Not “bystander.”
Not “pedestrian.”
Not “third victim.”
Pichi.
Because while the world learned of Edy Fernando Gutiérrez Mejia through an unimaginable accident in Los Angeles, the people waiting for him thousands of miles away already knew the person behind that name — a 29-year-old man who had traveled to America expecting to return home, never imagining that an ordinary business trip would be his last.
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