In less than 30 days, ABC15 News did it again. In a rush to be first to report a story of a single vehicle rollover car accident, ABC15 News reported instead that two helicopters had collided into each other and three victims were taken to the hospital. (See related story here)
On Wednesday, January 1st, 2014, at 5:30 p.m., the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office received several 9-1-1 calls related to a single vehicle rollover accident at Fulcar Road and Hidden Valley Road. Four people were in the vehicle at the time of the crash, and one was ejected.
Medical personnel called for three separate air ambulances to take the injured to local hospitals.
In early December, ABC15 News reported that a Pinal County Walmart had “trespassed for life” a customer who was simply trying to “ad match.” The false story grew internationally and quickly proved to be false. A simple check with the Sheriff’s Office would have shown that the “ad match victim” portrayed by ABC15 News was in fact cited and released for one count of Disorderly Conduct and one count of Threatening and Intimidating. (See related story here.)
Pinal County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch and others in the Sheriff’s office began receiving calls from citizens and media outlets locally and nationally regarding the ABC15 News story.
Sheriff Paul Babeu said, “If there isn’t enough drama for the evening news, don’t worry – ABC15 will make up more. Last month was the false story on the banned shopper at Walmart for price matching, and now this false report of two helicopters crashing in Pinal County. It is irresponsible for a nationally affiliated news agency to not verify significant facts or even an event as significant as two helicopters crashing with the investigating law enforcement agency before reporting to the public.”