Los Angeles’ own news‑helicopter crew will be memorialized on the National Mall. Former Congressman and chairman of the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation, David Dreier, announced Wednesday that the names of reporter Eliana Moreno, 38, and pilot George Marciniw will be added to the Washington, D.C. memorial that honors journalists who lost their lives while covering the news.
Local tragedy that sparked the tribute
Moreno and Marciniw were killed Tuesday when their NewsChopper4 helicopter went down in a self‑storage parking lot in Chatsworth while covering a deadly Metro bus‑collision nearby. The crash also claimed the life of 29‑year‑old Edy Gutierrez Mejia, a visitor from Guatemala. The bus crash that preceded the helicopter accident left two passengers dead after a wrong‑way SUV struck the bus.
Both Moreno and Marciniw were longtime fixtures of Southern California news coverage. Moreno joined Angel City Air, the operator of NewsChopper4, in 2010 and delivered aerial reports in English and Spanish for KNBC and Telemundo 52. Marciniw, a Burbank High School graduate of 1974, spent decades as a highly regarded pilot, flying crews over wildfires, police pursuits, parades and other breaking events.
Memorial details and timeline
The Fallen Journalists Memorial is a first‑of‑its‑kind tribute that received Congressional approval in 2020. It will be built on federal land between the U.S. Botanic Garden and the National Museum of the American Indian on the National Mall, using private funds. Organizers aim to complete construction by the end of 2028.
“The Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation exists to ensure that those who lose their lives while reporting the news are remembered,” Dreier said. “Eliana brought intelligence, energy and humanity to her work as a journalist, while George was an exceptionally skilled and dedicated pilot who made that work possible.”
Community response
In the days following the tragedy, flowers, cards and other tributes were left at the crash site, at NewsChopper4’s home base at Whiteman Airport in Pacoima, and outside the KNBC/Telemundo 52 studios in Universal City. Residents of the San Fernando Valley expressed sorrow and gratitude for the crew’s years of service, noting how their aerial coverage helped countless people understand events unfolding in their neighborhoods.
Federal crash‑safety investigators arrived Wednesday to begin a formal investigation. A preliminary report is expected within about 30 days, with a final report to follow in the coming months.
Broader context
The Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation reports that fourteen American journalists have been killed on U.S. soil since 1992, and more than 2,000 journalists have died worldwide in the same period. The addition of Moreno and Marciniw’s names underscores the ongoing risks faced by those who bring news to the public, especially in a region where news helicopters are a vital part of emergency coverage.
As Los Angeles mourns the loss of two dedicated professionals, the upcoming memorial will serve as a lasting reminder of their sacrifice and the essential role of newsgathering in a free society.
Original reporting: NBC4 Los Angeles — read the source article.
