For the third time in as many years, an alleged drunk driver has hit an EMS helicopter. This time it happened in the wee hours of last Friday morning in Rapid City, South Dakota, while the Black Hills Life Flight Bell 407 sat unoccupied on the helipad at the Regional Health Rapid City Hospital. The act appeared intentional, according to an eyewitness.

Police later found and arrested Carl Johnson, 53, of Rapid City, driving on deflated tires in a vehicle with damage consistent with the helicopter collision. Police said that when Johnson was arrested he was too impaired to drive. He was charged with second offense driving under the influence, driving with an open container of alcohol, operating on private property without permission, and leaving the scene of an accident.

The South Dakota incident follows similar ones in New Mexico and Florida. In both of those accidents, drunk drivers ignored police barricades and struck EMS helicopters responding to pick up patients on scene. Neither of those accidents resulted in injuries, although both disabled the helicopters and delayed patient transport. In the 2016 Gallup, New Mexico incident, the Airbus AS350B3 was knocked onto its side and substantially damaged.