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More victims identified in fatal San Diego plane crash

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More victims identified in fatal San Diego plane crash


Coroner’s officials have identified all but one of the six people killed when a plane crashed into a San Diego military housing community last week, as federal authorities today continued to probe the cause of the crash.

The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that there were six people aboard the 1985 Cessna 550 Citation when it plowed into the Murphy Canyon neighborhood at about 3:45 a.m. Thursday, injuring eight people on the ground and forcing about 100 people from their homes.

FAA records showed that the plane was registered to an Alaskan company owned by 42-year-old Dave Shapiro, a music industry agent who owned and co- founded El Cajon-based talent agency Sound Talent Group, which represented many punk and hard rock bands including Pierce the Veil and Sum 41. Shapiro was one of five victims officially identified by the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office as of Sunday.

Also named were:

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— Emma Huke, 25.

— Celina Marie Rose Kenyon, 36.

— Kendall Fortner, 24.

— Dominic Damian, 41.

The sixth victim was 39-year-old Daniel Williams, former drummer for the metal band The Devil Wears Prada. Pictures posted Wednesday night from Williams’ Instagram page show a plane bearing a registration number that matches the plane investigators say crashed Thursday morning. A caption reads “Flying back with @davevelocity,” which is Shapiro’s Instagram handle, while another picture appears to be taken from the co-pilot’s seat of the plane.

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Early Thursday afternoon, The Devil Wears Prada posted several pictures of Williams on the band’s social media pages, with a caption reading, “No words. We owe you everything. Love you forever.”

All six victims were aboard the plane when it crashed.

Officials have not said who was flying the plane, but according to multiple media reports, Shapiro had a pilot’s license.

Huke was a booking assistant for Sound Talent Group, and Fortner also worked for the company.

Damian was an accomplished martial arts practitioner who worked out at The Training Center in Pacific Beach. Citing family members, CBS8 reported that a memorial service would be held for the San Diego resident in Pacific Beach on Monday.

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Kenyon was a photographer.

“Celina was an amazing mother, daughter, sister, grand-daughter, partner and friend,” her family told NBC7. “She decided to fly home to San Diego with other crew and friends on a late night private flight rather than a commercial flight so she could get home early to take her daughter to school. Our family is devastated beyond these words. The world has lost a beautiful bright light.”

A company spokesperson for Sound Talent Group released a statement to Billboard that said: “We are devastated by the loss of our co-founder, colleagues and friends. Our hearts go out to their families and to everyone impacted by today’s tragedy. Thank you so much for respecting their privacy at this time.”

A National Transportation Safety Board investigator said both the runway lights and an automated weather-notification system at the destination airport were inoperable when the plane crashed. The Cessna, which was registered out of Alaska, left New Jersey at about 11:15 p.m. Wednesday, then stopped over in Wichita, Kansas to refuel, before departing for San Diego. NTSB investigators said they believe the plane was bound for Montgomery Field.

Investigator Elliott Simpson of the NTSB said Thursday afternoon that the plane struck powerlines about two miles southeast of the airport, then collided with a house. Simpson declined to say whether the Cessna striking the powerlines was related to the cause of the crash, but said fragments of the plane were found beneath the powerlines.

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San Diego Fire-Rescue Assistant Chief Dan Eddy said Thursday it was foggy at the time the private plane crashed.

“You could barely see in front of you,” he said.

On Friday, NTSB Investigator Dan Baker said that the pilot reported no problems to air traffic control prior to the crash. Some airport runway lights at Montgomery Field were inoperable and the airport’s weather information system was down “due to an unrelated power surge,” Baker said.

The Cessna also lacked a flight data recorder, according to Baker, who said investigators were working to see if the plane had a cockpit voice recorder. Maintenance records indicate one may have been installed previously, but it was unclear if it was operational.

While most of the injuries on the ground were described as minor, the crash destroyed one home and sparked fires at several others, with flames spreading to cars and other debris in the neighborhood. Eddy said all of the homes that were damaged were occupied when the impact occurred.

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Homeowner Ben McCarty, whose house on the corner of Salmon and Sample streets was caved in by the wreckage, told the San Diego Union-Tribune that his family’s life might have been saved by the fact that he parked his truck in front of the house.

“If that truck hadn’t been there and that plane had gone straight into the house, it probably would have killed us,” McCarty said. He also said he put the family’s two dogs in a crate that night instead of having them sleep in the living room as they often did, which he thinks saved their lives as well.

Some streets in the area surrounding the crash site were closed during the investigation. Taussig Street and Yorktown Drive were reopened to vehicle traffic on Thursday, and Santo Road was fully reopened Friday. Sample and Salmon streets remained closed.

Authorities advised anyone who smells jet fuel or finds debris near the scene of the crash site to call 619-531-2000. Those who had to leave their animals behind were advised to call the San Diego Humane Society emergency response team at 619-299-7012 or go to sdhumane.org/lost.

Anyone who witnessed the crash or has video footage was asked to contact the NTSB at witness@ntsb.gov.

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“In moments like this, we’re reminded of the strength and compassion that define our community,” the SDPD said in a statement Friday. “Our deepest condolences go out to the families impacted by yesterday’s plane crash. We’re truly grateful to every neighbor, first responder, and volunteer who came together to support one another.”

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria praised what he called “an extraordinary response effort here led by San Diego Fire-Rescue Department and San Diego Police Department. What you see is a collaborative effort with county, state and federal partners as well as our partners in the community. Our city will be supporting these families who were impacted here. They are a part of the military community that makes up our city. Proud partners of our community. And we will support them for as long as it takes to make sure we get back to good here in Tierrasanta.

“On behalf of our city, I extend my condolences to the families and loved ones of those aboard the plane. I want to express my deepest gratitude to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, San Diego Police Department, CalFire and military police for their swift, coordinated response that quickly evacuated residents, extinguished fires and secured the area to ensure this tragedy was not compounded. San Diego will support the Navy as they assist the residents affected by this tragedy,” Gloria added.



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San Diego health officials monitor hantavirus situation as cruise ship passengers return to U.S.

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San Diego health officials monitor hantavirus situation as cruise ship passengers return to U.S.


SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — American passengers from a cruise ship hit with a hantavirus outbreak are back in the United States.

San Diego County health officials say they are monitoring the situation and there is no need for panic.

“The risk to Californians is really low and especially here in San Diego. Since the year 2000, we’ve only had 4 cases of hantavirus and the majority of those were in travel related cases so not even acquired here locally,” Ankita Kadakia, deputy public health officer for the County of San Diego, said.

According to the CDC, hantavirus is spread through contact with infected rodents.

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“The virus can be in their saliva, feces or droppings,” Kadakia said.

San Diego County does see cases of rodents infected with hantavirus, but the strain seen locally is not the same strain connected to the cruise ship outbreak.

“The vast majority of strains of hantavirus are mouse or animal to human transmission. Not human to human transmission. So the Andes strain, which is found in Argentina, there is evidence that there is human to human transmission,” Dr. Ahmed Salem, a pulmonologist at Sharp Memorial Hospital, said.

Salem treated hantavirus during the 2012 Yosemite National Park outbreak.

“One of the ways you die from hantavirus is you get a collapse of your cardiac system and your pulmonary system and you have to go on something called ECMO. It’s one of the most aggressive forms of life support that you can do. So I do remember that case, and unfortunately, that person passed away,” Salem said.

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There is currently no cure or vaccine for hantavirus. Health officials stress that for those who were not on the cruise ship, the risk of contracting the virus remains low.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.





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Machado's walk-off lifts Padres to 10-inning comeback victory over Cards

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Machado's walk-off lifts Padres to 10-inning comeback victory over Cards


SAN DIEGO — The Padres earned a split against the Cardinals in dramatic fashion on Sunday afternoon. Nick Castellanos hit a game-tying two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, and Manny Machado’s sacrifice fly won it in the 10th.
Here’s some instant reaction from the Padres’ wild 3-2 victory



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Padres come back, walk off with win over Cardinals to split series

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Padres come back, walk off with win over Cardinals to split series


It seemed like the same tired story.

Instead, it was the same thriller.

The Padres pushed their offensive lethargy as long as possible without paying for it Sunday, tying the game with two outs in the ninth inning on Nick Castellanos’ two-run homer and then celebrating after Manny Machado’s sacrifice fly in the 10th inning gave them a 3-2 victory over the Cardinals.

“Getting it done,” Machado said.

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That’s it. That is all they are doing.

And at what is essentially the quarter mark of the season, the Padres are 24-16 and tied with the Dodgers atop the National League West.

The shocking component of their having the major leagues’ fifth-best record is that the Padres rank in the bottom three among MLB’s 30 teams in batting average and OPS.

They split with the Cardinals despite having 14 hits, their fewest in a four-game series in franchise history. Their 61 hits over their past 10 games are the fewest in a stretch that long since 2019, and they are 5-5 in those games.

“It sucks; we need to hit; Machado said. “I mean, you know, look, it’s obvious. We’re not hitting. It’s obvious, but we’re getting things done, man.”

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Nick Castellanos #21 of the San Diego Padres watches his two-run home run in the ninth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Petco Park on May 10, 2026 in San Diego, CA. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Sunday was the Padres’ 12th victory this season in which the decisive run was scored in the seventh inning or later. That is exactly half their victories.

It was their fourth walk-off victory, their second in extra innings. It was the seventh time that a run scored in their final offensive half-inning decided a victory.

So it is no small thing to proffer that Sunday was possibly their most dramatic triumph. Because it was possibly their most unlikely one.

Not only were they a strike away from defeat, but they began the ninth inning having gotten two hits all day.

The Cardinals took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning on their first two hits off Walker Buehler — a single by Alec Burleson and a home run by Jordan Walker with two outs. Buehler pitched six innings, allowing just one more hit before Ron Marinaccio worked two scoreless innings.

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But the Padres were unable to make anything of their seven at-bats with runners in scoring position over the first eight innings. They had walked five times but had just Jackson Merrill’s third-inning single and Xander Bogaerts’ fourth-inning double to that point.

“Really good teams find ways to win games when they’re not doing their best,” Gavin Sheets said. “… We’re not clicking on all cylinders by any means. And I don’t think any of us would say that he’s on a roll right now, but we’re getting hits in a timely fashion and it’s someone different every night.”

Almost.

The Padres have game-winning RBIs from 10 different players. They have go-ahead RBIs from 13 of the 14 position players who have been on their roster this season. Sunday was Castellanos’s third game-tying RBI.

His home run, on the ninth pitch of his at-bat against Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien, was something of a clinic by a veteran hitter who is in his first season as a role player.

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Castellenos, who entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning and remained in right field, came to the plate with Bogaerts at first base with two outs.

Bogaerts’ single leading off the inning had been followed by two strikeouts, and Castellanos fell behind 0-2 before working the count full and then sending a 99 mph sinker on the inner edge of the plate almost to the ribbon scoreboard fronting the second level of seats beyond left field.

“The first pitch started, and I was probably looking to do what I did,” he said. “And then I ended up getting 0-2 and chasing. After that, just took a deep breath and tried to shorten up as much as possible and just compete. Just find a way on base. And then found myself in a full account and was able to get the job done.”

It was the first home run allowed by O’Brien this season.

Nick Castellanos #21 of the San Diego Padres is dunked by Gavin Sheets #30 after a 3-2 win against the St. Louis Cardinals at Petco Park on May 10, 2026 in San Diego, CA. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Nick Castellanos #21 of the San Diego Padres is dunked by Gavin Sheets #30 after a 3-2 win against the St. Louis Cardinals at Petco Park on May 10, 2026 in San Diego, CA. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

With closer Mason Miller not available after throwing 29 pitches over 1⅓ innings on Saturday, Jeremiah Estrada got the first two outs of the 10th. With runners on first and second, Adrian Morejón entered the game and got an inning-ending pop out on his first pitch.

Gordon Graceffo was on the mound for the Cardinals, and Ramón Laureano was the Padres’ automatic runner in the 10th. The Cardinals intentionally walked Merrill at the start before Fernando Tatis Jr. whittled a 1-2 count into a walk to load the bases.

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The game was over one pitch later, when Machado sent a fastball to right-center field and Laureano slid across the plate well in front of right fielder Jordan Walker’s throw.

It was a somewhat subdued but still enthusiastic celebration along the first-base line, as teammates bounced around Machado.

“It’s hard to win a game like that,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “Their pitchers pitched great, and they’re bringing in one of the best closers in the game. And we just stuck with it. It just speaks to how those guys believe in themselves and how they believe in what we’ve got going on as a team.”



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