Highway memorial sign dedicated to fallen Huntington Beach Police Officer Nicholas Vella

The Nicholas Vella Memorial Highway sign in Huntington Beach was unveiled Friday morning to honor the fallen officer who died in a 2022 helicopter crash over the ocean.

State and Huntington Beach city leaders joined family members as well as police and fire representatives for the unveiling ceremony on Beach Boulevard near Pacific Coast Highway.

Nicholas Vella, 44, a Huntington Beach police officer, was killed in a chopper crash Feb. 19, 2022 in the Newport Bay waters between Lido Isle and the Balboa Peninsula. He was responding to a call for help from the Newport Beach Police Department about a fight.

There were dozens of witnesses on the beach near where the crash landing occurred. One witness said it looked like the helicopter was out of control, and that it was obvious it was going to go down.

A preliminary report from National Transportation Safety Board said that the helicopter unexpectedly yawed aggressively to the right during the flight.

Despite corrective measures from the pilot, the helicopter is said to have continued into a downward spiral until the impact. Vella, a 14-year veteran was acting as the tactical flight officer at the time of the crash.

The pilot, a 16-year-veteran, survived the crash.

In 2023, on the one-year anniversary of the fatal incident, a Nicholas Vella memorial plaque at Marina Park in Newport Beach was dedicated.

Vella is survived by his wife Kristi, daughter Dylan, his parents John and Marcella and his brother John Arthur.