Father in car was among 7 killed in Philadelphia medevac jet crash. His 9-year-old son is fighting for his life
A father who was inside his car when a medevac jet crashed in a Philadelphia neighborhood last week was among seven killed in the incident, a medical examiner's office says, meaning those seven have now been publicly identified. And his young son who was also in the car is now fighting for his life, his family says.
The twin-engine medevac jet carrying a child patient, her mother and the crew members crashed into a road in northeast Philadelphia on Friday night, showering flames and debris on homes and vehicles traveling on the street.
First responders at the scene found a person dead inside one of the vehicles and the Philadelphia medical examiner's office has now positively identified that man as 37-year-old Steven Dreuitt from Philadelphia.
All six people aboard the jet were killed when it crashed, along with Dreuitt on the ground. At least 24 people on the ground were injured, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said Monday.
Dreuitt's son Ramesses was with his father when their car caught fire near the crash site Friday night, engulfing the 9-year-old's body in flames, Virgen Viera, the child's grandmother, told CNN affiliate KYW in a story published Tuesday.
The boy, who has burns on 90% of his body, was recovering in a burn unit in Boston, Viera said.
The family, who has asked for privacy, is focused on Ramesses' recovery.
'I trust in God. Trust in God,' Viera told KYW.
Investigators working to determine the cause of the fiery crash have been collecting debris from the crash site, which spans four to six blocks, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said.
The plane's cockpit voice recorder was located at the site of initial impact, along with the airplane's enhanced ground proximity warning system, which could also contain flight data. Both have been sent to an NTSB laboratory in Washington, DC for evaluation, according to the agency.
The six people on the plane were Mexican nationals, Mexico's president said.
On board were a pediatric patient and her mother returning home to Mexico after the child had been treated in Philadelphia, said Shai Gold, spokesperson for flight operator Jet Rescue Air Ambulance. The girl was being treated for an illness at Shriners Children's Hospital in northeast Philadelphia, city officials said Saturday.
Four crew members – a pilot, co-pilot, paramedic and doctor – were also on board the flight, which was scheduled to stop for refueling at the Springfield airport before continuing to its final destination of Tijuana, Mexico, Gold told CNN.
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
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Chasing ICE: The mad scramble to track immigration raids across L.A. County
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'I've been doing this for six days. It sucks because I get these alerts and go, but I never make it in time,' said Garcia, a Mexican American U.S. citizen who lives in South Central. Read more: L.A. braces for multiple 'No Kings' demonstrations across the city Saturday Monitoring ICE activity has become a grim pastime for some Angelenos. Apps dedicated to the purpose have popped up, which combine with Citizen, Nextdoor, X and other platforms to create a firehose of unverified, user-generated information about federal movements and operations. Trying to keep up in real time can prove equally exhausting and frustrating. The reports sometimes turn out to be false, and immigration enforcers seem to strike and depart with swift precision, leaving the public little opportunity to respond. It's impossible to determine how many people are engaged in this Sisyphean chase. 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Yahoo
3 hours ago
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A protest over immigration broke out next to a Compton restaurant. The owner, an immigrant, offered help to both protesters and cops
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Los Angeles Times
3 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Why they protest: Voices from the downtown L.A. ICE demonstrations
During a week of protest, Los Angeles is the center stage of the national immigration debate, with pundits on both sides characterizing the fight through the lens of their respective viewpoints. Not everyone is pleased with the actions — there has been vandalism, destruction and injuries — isolated yet striking moments that have at times overshadowed peaceful demonstrations. But for many out in the demonstrations, there was a message that they wanted to be heard. During these demonstrations, Los Angeles Times reporters on the ground have interviewed protesters and asked them why they're demonstrating. Here's what they had to say: Alejandra Flores attended a protest in front of Westin LAX Friday with her daughter and her mother, who had recently become a U.S. citizen. Maritza Perez Huerta attended her first protest this week. She couldn't make it out to protests a couple of years ago because she was younger and her mother was afraid. Priscilla Ramos spent her first day of protesting in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center this week, where Marines were expected to arrive. Cynthia Guardano was born in the United States in a mixed-status family. She was downtown demonstrating on Friday. Jason Petty, a 46-year-old musician from Boyle Heights, told The Times he went to a rally because 'this is our community — immigration is us.' Petty, a former ninth-grade history teacher, said he was born and raised in Los Angeles and was here during the 1992 riots. He is Black, and his grandmother lived in Watts during the 1965 Watts riots. His father was a Black Panther. Petty said he has a daughter in fourth grade and that immigration agents recently came to the neighborhood near her school. He said he has had to have difficult conversations with her, assuring her she's safe, and why it was important to go to the rally. Outside City Hall in Santa Ana this week, Alicia Rojas observed a protest from afar. The Colombian native had her amnesty application denied as a child. Now a U.S. citizen, Rojas grew up during the era of Proposition 187 and remembered all the racism against people like her at the time. Michelle Hernandez, 19, marched at the federal building with a Mexican flag draped over her shoulders. A daughter of Mexican immigrants, she said she had been worried about family members and friends during the ICE raids. Franchesca Olivas drove two hours alone from Hemet to attend the anti-ICE demonstration this week outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles. She was carrying an upside-down American flag attached to the Mexican flag because she's half-white and half-Mexican. Aaron Fontan, 24, said he also has participated in Black Lives Matter protests and felt familiar police pushback and militance this time around. However, he felt that not as many people are willing to show up to anti-ICE protests. Beyond the protests, some civic leaders have also voiced their opposition to the escalation in immigration enforcement. Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. Alberto Carvalho, the son of immigrants, has been outspoken about his mission to protect students: Service Employees International Union California President David Huerta was injured and detained while documenting an immigration enforcement raid in downtown L.A. last week. Times staff writers Christopher Buchanan and Annie Goodykoontz contributed to this report.
