The author of that study, Hopkins professor Susan P. Baker, said that in many cases it might be safer to take patients to hospitals via ground transportation.
"The fatal crash rate of ambulances is nothing like it is for helicopters," she said.
The pilot, Stephen H. Bunker, 59, was among those who died in the crash. Also killed were Tfc. Mickey Lippy, 34, a flight paramedic from Westminster; Tonya Mallard, 38, an emergency medical technician from the Waldorf rescue squad; and Ashley J. Younger, 17, who had been a passenger in a car that crashed in her hometown of Waldorf about 10:45 p.m. Saturday.
Wells, the driver of that car, remained at Shock Trauma yesterday with broken bones and internal injuries, according to her parents.
"Every time we talk to the doctors it's better news, so we're happy," her father, Scott Wells, told reporters outside the hospital. "But she's a very hurt girl."
The crash stunned Bunker's fellow pilots, who also fly Eurocopter Dauphin 2 twin jet engine helicopters like the one that crashed.
The state police have 47 pilots, with most of them working in the medevac fleet. The pilots are paired with troopers who are trained paramedics, and the medevac fleet has had a reputation as an elite emergency response team that serves all corners of the state.
"We chose this type of helicopter flying because we want to help people," said David Delisio, a civilian state police medevac pilot who is based in Frederick. "It's a wonderful feeling when you complete a mission and take a person to the hospital. I can't tell you how many times that person will call back, or their family will call and say, 'Hey thanks a lot.' "
Baltimore Sun reporters Gus G. Sentementes and Nicole Fuller contributed to this article.
