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U.S. NEWS Monday 30 deceMber 2019

Plane crash kills 5, including LSU coach's daughter-in-law

By JANELLE COGAN the crash happened. He
SUDHIN THANAWALA said his father, Steven Ens-
Associated Press minger, called him just be-
ATLANTA (AP) — A small fore the elder Ensminger
plane en route to a col- got to the stadium. The
lege football playoff game coach had tears in his eyes
crashed into a post office when he appeared on
parking lot in Louisiana the field at the start of the
shortly after takeoff Sat- game Saturday afternoon,
urday, killing five people, and LSU players embraced
including a well-known him with hugs.
sports reporter who was the "He's the MVP right now," This photo provided by AcadianNews shows first responders
looking over the site of a plane crash near Feu Follet Road and
daughter-in-law of one of LSU head coach Ed Org- Verot School Road in Lafayette, La., Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019.
the team's coaches. eron said in an on-air half- Associated Press
The two-engine Piper time interview. LSU won
Cheyenne crashed in the 63-28. The Lafayette Fire her deep knowledge of in promotional segments
city of Lafayette about Department identified the Louisiana sports, from high broadcast during games.
a mile from the regional other people who were school to the professional "Carley was a valued
airport where the flight killed as Ian E. Biggs, 51, ranks, made her an excep- member of both our New
began, Federal Aviation the plane's pilot; Robert tional journalist. " Orleans Saints and New
Administration spokesman Vaughn Crisp II, 59; Gretch- McCord was also part of Orleans Pelicans family as
Tony Molinaro said. Inves- en D. Vincent, 51; and Mi- the game-day entertain- an in-game host and her
tigators from the FAA and chael Walker Vincent, 15. ment staff for the NFL's infectious personality and
the National Transportation The injured passenger, Ste- New Orleans Saints and knowledge of both teams
Safety Board were investi- phen Wade Berzas, was in the NBA's New Orleans Peli- entertained our fans," the
gating, according to Mo- critical condition, said de- cans, regularly appearing two teams said.q
linaro and an NTSB state- partment spokesman Alton
ment on Twitter. The plane Trahan.
was an eight-passenger The plane went down in a
aircraft, said Lafayette Fire part of the city with a scat-
Chief Robert Benoit. Six tering of banks, fast food
people were on board the chains and other business-
plane, five of whom were es. A trail of scorched and
killed, he said. The sixth, a burning grass could be
37-year-old man, was be- seen around the crash site.
ing treated at an area hos- Marty Brady, 22, said the
pital along with two people lights went out at his apart-
who were in the post office. ment a couple of hun-
A person who was either in dred yards (183 meters) or
or near a car on the ground so away from where the
was also "impacted" by plane crashed just as he
the crash and was being was making his morning
treated for injuries, Benoit coffee.
said. He did not elaborate. Brady said he ran out and
A blackened car sat in saw black smoke and
the post office parking lot, flames from the post of-
which was carpeted with fice parking lot. He said
scattered tree limbs. the plane clipped and
Kevin Jackson and other knocked down a power
eyewitnesses told KLFY-TV line over the gate to his
that the plane hit a car as apartment complex.
it fell, and that someone "If it had been a little lower,
could be heard screaming it could have been a lot
inside the vehicle. worse," he said. McCord
Steven Ensminger Jr., son of was a Baton Rouge native
the offensive coordinator and sports reporter for WD-
for the Louisiana State Uni- SU-TV in New Orleans and
versity football team, said appeared as a sideline re-
his wife, Carley McCord, porter for ESPN, according
was on board the flight to her website. She previ-
and died when it crashed. ously worked in television
He said the plane was en in Cleveland, and she was
route to the Peach Bowl a two-time runner-up in the
playoff game in Atlanta Miss Louisiana pageant.
between LSU and Okla- "We are devastated by the
homa. "I just don't feel like loss of such an amazing
this is real," Ensminger Jr. talent and valued mem-
told the AP in an Instagram ber of our WDSU family,"
message. said WDSU President and
Ensminger Jr. said he was General Manager, Joel Vil-
unable to go to the game menay. "Carley's passion
and was at work when for sports journalism and