Latest news with #BranchesBelow
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Former Devil Wears Prada drummer Daniel Williams killed in San Diego plane crash
Daniel Williams was among the victims of a fatal plane crash in San Diego. The former drummer from the metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada was killed after a private airplane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood on Thursday morning, his father told TMZ. The band, which parted ways with the musician in 2016, seemingly confirmed Williams' death in an Instagram post featuring several photos of him. "No words. We owe you everything," the caption said. "Love you forever." The Associated Press identified the plane's pilot and owner as music agent Dave Shapiro. A spokesperson for Sound Talent Group, the agency that Shapiro co-founded, confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that the agent and two other STG employees were killed in the crash. "We are devastated by the loss of our co-founder, colleagues and friends," the STG spokesperson said. "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." Shortly before the crash, Williams shared three posts on his Instagram story confirming that he was flying with Shapiro. The first post read, "Flying back with @davevelocity," which is Shaprio's handle on the platform. The second post showed an image of the cockpit and featured a paraphrase of a quote from Captain Phillips: "Hey. Hey…you…look at me…I'm the (co)pilot now." The third and final post seemed to show Williams in the copilot's seat, with the caption, "Here we gooooo." Williams' father, Larry, told TMZ that his son did not have his pilot's license and suggested that the posts were merely jokes. Entertainment Weekly has reached out to representatives for The Devil Wears Prada for more information. Williams was one of the founding members of The Devil Wears Prada when it formed in Dayton, Ohio, in 2005. He contributed drums on the group's first five studio albums: Dear Love: A Beautiful Discord, Plagues, With Roots Above and Branches Below, Dead Throne, and 8:18. The drummer departed the band in 2016, and worked as a software engineer for GoPro for eight years. Williams announced that he'd accepted a new job at Apple less than two weeks before the San Diego Police Department said in a press release that six people were on board the plane when it crashed into a house on the 3100 block of Salmon Road in the Tierrasanta neighborhood around 3:45 a.m. local time. Authorities confirmed that at least two people died in the crash, but are still determining the exact number of fatalities. Eight people were injured in the incident, but none of those injured were on board the plane. The National Transportation Safety Bureau is investigating the crash. AP reported that Shapiro's plane crashed into Navy-owned housing in a neighborhood near San Diego's Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport. Local police reported that two were confirmed to have died from the incident and at least eight were injured, with around 10 buildings sustaining damage and 100 residents evacuating from the area. Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
Indian Express
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Devil Wears Prada drummer Daniel Williams dies in San Diego plane crash; his last words: ‘I'm the co-pilot now'
Daniel Williams, the popular drummer for metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada, has died in a fatal plane crash in San Diego, on Thursday morning, according to TMZ. He was just 39. The family of Williams later spoke to the outlet, confirming the tragic incident. Reportedly, 42-year-old Dave Shapiro, the co-founder of Sound Talent Group (STG) and a popular music agent who was travelling on the same flight, also lost his life. The Federal Aviation Administration has yet to confirm the total number of casualties. However, according to reports, there were a total of six people travelling on the private jet. Also read: Multiple fatalities after plane crashes in California's San Diego, 15 homes damaged in fire The crash reportedly happened early Thursday morning in the Murphy Canyon area. The neighbourhood is famous for Navy housing. The small private jet, which could accommodate up to 10 people, lost engine control at around 3:45 AM and crashed into the residential area. The crash ended up engulfing several houses and parked cars in the area in flames. Some people on the ground also suffered injuries while trying to escape the flames, and a few were hospitalised for smoke inhalation. According to Larry Williams, the father of Daniel Williams, he is confident that there are no survivors. However, the FAA has assured an investigation into the case, having not confirmed the number of deaths. STG later confirmed that three of the people onboard were their employees, including Shapiro. 'We are devastated by the loss of our co-founder, colleagues, and friends,' Sound Talent Group said in a statement to Billboard. '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.' Shapiro worked with famous bands including Sum 41, Pierce the Veil, I Prevail and reportedly also owned a plane and a flying license. Also read: Near-death experience, says TMC MP as Indigo flight to Srinagar faces turbulence, damage during storm Devil Wears Prada, the band's official social media page, also paid tribute to Williams with a picture of him on his drum set and captioned it, 'No words. We owe you everything. Love you forever.' Williams had left the band a while ago (2005-2016), but he was a vital part—someone who played a big role in making the Christian metal-pop band a success. During his time, they released several hit albums like With Roots Above and Branches Below, Zombie EP, and Dead Throne. Just hours before the crash, Daniel had posted a photo to his Instagram story from inside the cockpit, jokingly writing, 'Hey. Hey… you… look at me… I'm the (co)pilot now.' The private jet took off from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey late Wednesday night, then stopped for a while to refuel in Wichita, Kansas, and was headed to Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport in San Diego. In 2019, Williams survived a mass shooting in Ohio, after a gunman opened fire in Dayton's Ned Peppers bar. 9 people were killed and 27 were injured. Williams later took to social media to share, 'There was an active shooter in the bar I was in tonight. I am told that he had an AR-15. [My friend] and I are ok. I am so incredibly heartbroken for those affected by this. I have never been so scared in my life.' He added, 'I was in Ned Peppers. I'm still not sure exactly what happened. People were piling on top of each other to get out. It's all a blur. F***ing awful.'
