BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – Pompano Beach Fire Rescue and community members came together Friday to honor a heroic civilian and first responders who assisted victims after a Broward Sheriff’s Office helicopter crash killed two people last August.
On Friday, Jerriel Moreland and all of the responding Pompano Beach firefighters were honored for their instrumental efforts in saving lives after the crash occurred.
Mary Moreland, Jerriel Moreland’s mother, attended Friday’s ceremony to watch her son receive the Citizen Heroism Award for his efforts last year.
“I knew he would do it because that’s the way I raised him,” she said.
Jerriel Moreland recounted his heroic efforts with Local 10 News on Friday.
“I just tried to help some guys I saw with a ladder on the roof,” he said. “The helicopter crashed and I was just trying to be a good citizen.”
Moreland’s quick thinking and selfless attitude helped to prevent a horrible situation from getting worse.
“There was so much going on. I was just happy to get them off the roof,” he said.
The aircraft spun out of control and crashed through the roof of an apartment building on Aug. 28, killing BSFR Capt. Terryson Jackson and apartment resident Lurean Wheaton. Two paramedics were also injured in the crash.
While authorities called the incident “a heartbreaking situation,” they acknowledged Moreland’s selfless efforts Friday as he stood side by side with first responders who put their lives on the line for others.
“He didn’t have to do what he did but he did it,” said Pompano Beach Commissioner Beverly Perkins. “He was just on the scene and helped the firefighters off the roof and just did what he had to do on impulse.”
“Somebody had to do it,” Moreland said. “I didn’t think about it and just reacted.”