‘Unimaginable and sudden loss': Weston High School mourns family killed in New York plane crash
The Weston community is in mourning following the loss of a family after a plane crash in upstate New York over the weekend.
The twin-engine Mitsubishi MU-2B private plane was on its way to the Catskills for a birthday celebration and the Passover holiday when it went down into a muddy field in Copake near the Massachusetts border killing everyone on board.
Among the victims were Karenna Groff, a former MIT soccer player named the 2022 NCAA woman of the year; her father, a neuroscientist, Dr. Michael Groff; her mother, Dr. Joy Saini, a urogynecologist; her brother, Jared Groff, a 2022 graduate of Swarthmore College who worked as a paralegal; James Santoro, Karennas boyfriend and another recent MIT graduate and Alexia Couyutas Duarte, Jared Groff's partner.
Kareena and Jared were both graduates of Weston High School. Weston Public Schools superintendent Dr. Karen Zalenski and Weston High School principal Sue Bairstow, released a statement to the community on Sunday.
'We are deeply saddened to hear the news of a terrible tragedy involving the Groff family, all valued and beloved members of our Weston Public School community,' the statement said. 'Their lives ended far too soon, and our hearts are with all those who are grieving this unimaginable and sudden loss,' the statement went on to say.
John Santoro, James' father, tells Boston 25 his son first met Groff as a freshman at MIT. Groff, was an All-American soccer player studying biomedical engineering at MIT and was named the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year.
'Still couldn't believe it was true. I still don't believe it's true,' John Santoro said.
According to Santoro, the couple were excited to embark on a new chapter in New York City after both graduating from MIT, and were planning to get engaged this summer.
'Still don't believe it's true': Plane crash kills two recent MIT student-athletes, Drs from Weston
'Out of respect for the family and especially for our student who is grieving the loss of her loved ones, we ask that all members of our community honor their privacy during this deeply personal time,' Zalenski said. 'Our role as a school community is to surround them with quiet care, compassion, and space to heal,' she added
The school district is making counselors available for students and providing guidance for anyone who may have questions.
The school also wrote that a family member who was not on the plane is a student at the high school.
'In moments like this, we are reminded of the strength of our community and the importance of being there for one another,' the school said.
According to the AP, the plane was set to land at Columbia County Airport but crashed roughly 10 miles to the south. According to the NTSB a full accident report could take between 12 and 24 months to complete.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Plane with more than 240 people aboard crashes 5 minutes after takeoff in India
AHMEDABAD, India (AP/Boston 25) — An Air India passenger plane bound for London with more than 240 people on board crashed Thursday in India's northwestern city of Ahmedabad, the airline said. Visuals on local television channels showed smoke billowing from the crash site in what appeared to be a populated area near the airport in Ahmedabad, a city with a population of more than 5 million. The airline said the Gatwick Airport-bound flight was carrying 242 passengers and crew. Of those, Air India said there were 169 Indians, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian. Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, the director general of the Directorate of Civil Aviation, told The Associated Press that Air India flight AI 171, a Boeing 787-8, crashed into a residential area called Meghani Nagar five minutes after taking off at 1:38 p.m. local time. He said 244 people were on board, and it was not immediately possible to reconcile the discrepancy with Air India's numbers. Gatwick posted on X that it could confirm the flight, which had been due to arrive at 6:25 p.m. in London, had crashed on departure. India's Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu posted on X that rescue teams have been mobilized, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support at the site. 'We are on highest alert. I am personally monitoring the situation,' he said. The 787 Dreamliner is a widebody, twin-engine plane. This is the first crash ever of a Boeing 787 aircraft, according to the Aviation Safety Network database. The aircraft was introduced in 2009 and more than 1,000 have been delivered to dozens of airlines, according to the Flightradar24 website. Air India's chairman, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, said at the moment, 'our primary focus is on supporting all the affected people and their families.' He said on X that the airline had set up an emergency center and support team for families seeking information about those who were on the flight. 'Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event,' he said. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mini-Park Village opens as educational and career-focused space for kids
SOUTH FORK, Pa. (WTAJ) — A new Mini-Park Village that will educate children and help them explore careers is now open in South Fork. The South Fork Public Library, in partnership with the Forest Hills School District, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday to celebrate the opening. 'I'm just so excited to see it come alive again, because this park has sat here empty probably for 10 or 15 years, and it's such a beautiful location. And I told someone that the ironic part of this is that my father designed this park and was part of it being built in the 1970s,' Stacey Lewis, South Fork Library Treasurer, said. The Mini-Park Village is a dynamic educational and career-focused space that was made possible through the 'Building Opportunities Out-of-School Time' (BOOST) Grant awarded to both the School District and the town of South Fork. VA Medical Center celebrates women veterans with ceremony According to the library, the park offers hands-on learning experiences that promote career exploration, civic engagement, and real-world application of academic skills. 'I'm a former kindergarten and first-grade teacher, so I know the importance of dramatic play for children. That's how children learn and that's how they develop skills. So in each of the centers, there is a developmental skill, like maybe colors or shapes, and just hands-on activities for children to learn,' Lewis said. Educators, community leaders, and local government also supported this effort. 'So what this mini park is designed to do is really to start planting the seed in our youngest students that, you know, we can start thinking about our careers at a very young age, and there's boundless opportunities. And then in school, we learn what skills they need in order to develop the skills for those careers,' Robert Dill, Assistant Superintendent for Forest Hills School District said. In the winter, the toys and equipment will be moved, and the park will be flooded to create an ice skating rink. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
Fairfield, Dartmouth footbridges over Storrow Drive to close briefly to pedestrians for work detail
The Fairfield and Dartmouth footbridges over Storrow Drive will be temporarily closed to pedestrians on Thursday for safety line striping work, state officials said. Storrow Drive will remain open for the duration of work, and a police detail will be on site, Department of Conservation and Recreation officials said Wednesday. Fairfield Footbridge will be closed from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Dartmouth Footbridge will be closed from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
