At the least two individuals had been killed, together with a UPS driver, and two others had been injured after a small aircraft crashed into a number of properties and automobiles in a suburban Southern California neighborhood Monday, officers stated.
The crash occurred shortly after midday within the metropolis of Santee, about 20 miles northeast of downtown San Diego, Fireplace Chief John Garlow informed USA TODAY.
The aircraft, a twin-engine Cessna 340, struck a number of properties and a number of automobiles, together with aUPS truckthat was “closely broken,” Garlow stated. Three properties had “main harm” and two had been fully burned, he stated.
UPS confirmed in a written assertion to USA TODAY that an worker died within the crash.
“We’re heartbroken by the lack of our worker, and prolong our deepest condolences to his household and associates,” the assertion stated. “We additionally ship our condolences for the opposite people who’re concerned on this incident, and their households and associates.”
Two individuals had been taken to the hospital with burn accidents, Deputy Fireplace Chief Justin Matsushita informed reporters. Extra victims had been attainable, he stated, including: “it is a fairly brutal scene.”
Authorities didn’t instantly launch the identities of these killed or injured.
It was unclear whether or not anybody was contained in the broken properties, Garlow stated. The sheriff’s division was checking inside close by properties, too, he stated.
Jennifer Ward informed USA TODAY she was sitting at residence watching a film when she felt the home shake.
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“I assumed a tree fell on my home, after which I ran outdoors and noticed all of the black smoke,” Ward stated. The aircraft crashed one road over from her. Ward stated she drives down the highway “a number of occasions a day.”
The aircraft crashed between Ward’s home and close by Santana Excessive Faculty. College students at Santana briefly went into safe places and had been later launched.
“All the children on the college had been actually scared as a result of they didn’t know what was happening, and the varsity was shaking, too,” stated Ward, whose 15-year-old son attends Santana.
Jim Slaff informed NBC 7 in San Diego that neighbors pulled his mom out of a window of her burning residence and rescued his stepfather from the yard. It seems their canine died.
Slaff stated neighbors informed him the couple was “clearly shaken up however doing OK” and brought to UC San Diego Medical Heart. “It’s a warfare zone. It’s not even a home,” Slaff stated after arriving on the scene.
The Federal Aviation Administration and Nationwide Transportation Security Board had been investigating. The American Purple Cross of Southern California arrange a short lived evacuation middle at a close-by YMCA.
“We provide our deepest sympathies to the family members of these we misplaced in immediately’s aircraft crash,” the San Diego Sheriff’s Division said on Twitter.
Santee has seen different aircraft crashes lately, Garlow stated. A crash in a business space in 2015 killed a pilot, he stated. One other crash 10 years in the past in a residential space additionally killed a pilot, he stated.
Contributing: The Related Press
