Marion County chopper went down in lake near Ocala wildfire

MARION COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) – A Marion County sheriff’s deputy nearly made the ultimate sacrifice, while helping put out wildfires. Sgt. John Rawls was dumping buckets of water from a chopper on a massive Ocala wildfire when deputies say something went wrong and his helicopter went down in a lake.

“When you go through a helicopter crash, you need help now,” stressed Lauren Lettelier, Marion County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman, “we didn’t know the severity of his injuries; he was going through a bunch of adrenaline to even get to the shore. We’re thankful he even got out of it.”