Plane crashes into car on Calif. freeway; 1 dead
FALLBROOK, Calif.- A small plane crashed on a Southern California freeway Saturday, slamming into a car stopped on the side of the road, killing a woman in the vehicle and injuring five others, including the pilot and his passenger, authorities said.
Witnesses said the plane appeared to be having problems before it banked west and came down on the road, California Highway Patrol Officer Chris Parent said. One man said he didn't hear the plane's engine as it flew overhead.
The single-engine Lancair IV landed on its belly and skidded about 250 feet before striking the rear of a black Nissan Altima sedan that was stopped on the shoulder of the road. The driver of the car had pulled over to synchronize the Bluetooth device on his phone, Parent said.
The impact crumpled the back of the car, killing 38-year-old passenger Antoinette Frances Isbelle, CBS affiliate KFMB reported. She was believed to be a San Diego resident. Three others in the car were also hurt.
"The plane went completely into the trunk and pushed the rear bumper almost into the rear passenger seat," said John Buchanan, spokesman for the North County Fire Protection District.
Buchanan told KFMB one of the car passengers who survived, identified as 36-year-old Emily Boesmiller-Hoch, was rushed to the hospital after being cut from the wreckage.
"We had to extricate her from the car which took about 15-20 minutes to get her out of the car," Buchanan said.
Boesmiller-Hoch, driver Aaron Meccann, 42, and front-seat passenger Jason Soule were expected to survive their injuries.
Pilot Dennis Hogge, 62, and his passenger, who wasn't immediately named, suffered major injuries, Parent said.
Firefighters were able to contain a fuel leak before it caught fire since they arrived on scene from their station located less than a mile from the crash, Buchanan said.
''It's amazing that there weren't more injuries,'' he said.
The plane was once owned by major league catcher Matt Nokes, who made a noteworthy landing on busy I-15 when the engine quit on its second flight on Feb. 18, 2000.
Nokes guided the high-performance $500,000 plane to a smooth landing and safely taxied off the road without injuries.
Nokes went on to fly the plane every day for five years without incident before selling it. He said it had been rebuilt several times since he sold it.
"It was crazy," Nokes told The Associated Press on Saturday. "Everything worked out so beautifully. It was almost a humorous thing. Unfortunately, it doesn't always turn out that way."
When Nokes heard about the crash, he unsuccessfully tried to reach Hogge. He didn't realize Hogge had been injured.
He described Hogge as a good man, an outstanding pilot and a master plane builder.
"It's just horrible to hear about," said Nokes who spent 11 years in the majors, mostly with the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees.
The stretch of freeway is no stranger to unusual landings. Parent said he's aware of three other planes that have come down on that stretch of freeway about 50 miles north of San Diego in the past decade.
Nokes said the freeway is a popular route for flying because there are fewer flight restrictions than along the Interstate 5 corridor.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said.
A large number of people witnessed the crash, Buchanan said. Many of them reported not hearing anything that would indicate an engine problem, but said the way the plane was banking to the east, then to the west before hitting the ground indicated it was in some kind of trouble.
The crash blocked two lanes and caused major backups on the freeway that runs to Las Vegas. The NTSB removed the wreckage from the scene Saturday night.