(The Center Square) – Military families continue to receive aid from the San Diego community after a civilian plane crashed in a Navy-owned housing complex.
A Cessna Citation 550 private jet crashed into a Murphy Canyon neighborhood around 3:45 a.m. May 22, causing damage to many houses and leaving 100 people without a home. The crash killed all six people on board and injured eight on the ground.
Five of the six people killed have been identified by the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office including the pilot, Dave Shapiro, and four other passengers: Emma Huke, Celina Maria Rose Kenyon, Kendall Fortner and Dominic Damian. The sixth victim has been identified as Daniel Williams on different media platforms, but the name has not been officially confirmed, according to ABC News 10 San Diego. Williams is the former drummer of the metal band The Devil Wears Prada.
Families whose homes were damaged were first evacuated to Murphy Canyon Chapel and Miller Elementary School, said Joseph Delarosa, public affairs officer at Navy Base San Diego. Delarosa told The Center Square Wednesday that those who have not been able to go home are staying at hotels or Airbnbs.
“Families received an evacuation order from the Navy Region Southwest,” Delarosa said. “The evacuation order authorizes use of federal funding to help cover the costs of the hotels and Airbnbs.”
Besides receiving aid to help pay for permanent housing, Delarosa said families are also receiving aid from local military nonprofits such as the San Diego Military Advisory Council.
The SDMAC created an emergency action group that has been helping families who were evacuated from their homes by delivering on-site donations. The emergency action group consists of five nonprofits: SDMAC, Zero8hundred, Feeding San Diego, STEP (Support The Enlisted Project) and ASYMCA (Armed Services YMCA).
Ashley Camac, CEO of Zero8hundred, said her organization has been donating an assortment of things to the families such as gift and gas cards, but especially food and clothing.
Camac, who has been on-site communicating with the families, also said residents’ emotions are raw after having lost most of their belongings, but they appreciate the help they have been receiving.
“The reaction is that these families are extremely grateful to their San Diego community,” Camac told The Center Square Wednesday.
The organizations are now trying to shift from on-site donations to requesting the community for monetary donations, according to a SDMAC news release on Wednesday.
“I think right now we have seen such a positive reaction from the community with physical support,” Camac said. “In the long run, we need to start seeing financial support.”
