Local News in Brief : Coroner Finds Cocaine in Body of ‘Airwolf’ Series Stunt Man

Astunt man killed when the helicopter in which he was riding crashed near Newhall on Jan. 18 had “a small amount of cocaine” in his blood, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office reported Friday.

Authorities said the cocaine had been inhaled but declined to estimate when or say how much of the drug had been taken.

Reid Rondell, 22, working as a stunt man on the filming of the television series “Airwolf,” was burned to death in the crash several miles west of Newhall in Pico Canyon.

The Bell 205 helicopter was piloted by Scott Meher, 36, of Los Angeles. Meher was pulled from the craft and treated for multiple fractures, minor head injuries, bruises and scrapes at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital. He was released last month.

Rondell, a third-generation stunt man, was serving as a double for the television series’ star, Jan-Michael Vincent.

The accident occurred among rolling hills near the site where actor Vic Morrow and two child actors were killed in 1982 while filming “The Twilight Zone--The Movie.”

The cause of the crash has not been determined.