“Smash” actress Megan Hilty has lost her pregnant sister, young nephew and brother-in-law in the small-plane crash off the coast of Washington State over the weekend.
The floatplane was carrying nine adults and one child when it went down in Puget Sound, west of Whidbey Island, as it journeyed toward Renton Municipal Airport.
One passenger had been found dead on Sunday evening, but the others were still missing.
Among the passengers were Lauren Hilty, Ross Mickel and their child Remy, TMZ reported. The crash occurred about 30 miles from Seattle. TMZ first reported that Lauren Hilty was pregnant.
Pilot Jason Winters was one of the 10 on board, the Coast Guard said in releasing the occupants’ names on Tuesday. The others were Patricia Hicks, Sandra Williams, Luke Ludwig, Rebecca Ludwig, Joanne Mera and Gabrielle Hanna, the U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday.
Williams was a prominent civil rights activist. Mickel was the founder and owner of Ross Andrew Winery, a local winemaker.
“We are deeply saddened and beyond devastated at the loss of our beloved Ross Mickel, Lauren Hilty, Remy and their unborn baby boy, Luca,” the Mickel and Hilty families said in a statement obtained by The Associated Press. “Our collective grief is unimaginable. They were a bright and shining light in the lives of everyone who knew them.”
Williams, a lecturer, filmmaker and founder of the Carl Maxey Center, was also editor of The Black Lens, an African American-focused newspaper.
“Sandy was a voice for the voiceless, a tireless advocate for marginalized people in Spokane, a journalist unafraid to speak truth to power, a builder of hope in her vision for the Carl Maxey Center, and a beloved friend to countless members of our community,” the Spokane County Human Rights Task Force said in a statement.
With News Wire Services
