Vigil honors two of the victims of the Mesa plane crash

CHANDLER, AZ (AZFamily) — Hundreds of people gathered at Valencia Park in Chandler on Saturday to honor two of the five victims of an East Valley plane crash that occurred earlier this week.

Father and son, 44-year-old Drew and 12-year-old Grahm Kimball, were aboard the jet when it crashed into a car outside Falcon Field Airport in Mesa on Tuesday.

“I keep thinking that someone is going to tell me it’s not true, and then you realize it is. Actually, it’s a nightmare. So pretty terrible,” said Katy May, a family friend. She is the woman who organized the vigil.

The ceremony took place near 12-year-old Grahm’s school and many of his classmates, teammates and church members came together to show their support.

“So much love and pain, but when you come together like that, I mean, you kind of grieve together. There is healing in that,” said Kyle Worthen, a family friend. He led a prayer at the vigil.

The crowd held onto each other and candles as they listened to the music in remembrance.

Tragedy is nothing new for this family. Just ten months ago, the Kimballs lost another teenage son to suicide.

“This is definitely an extension of the pain and grief they were still healing from. I don’t think you ever fully heal from loss,” Worthen said.

During the meeting, Grahm’s 6th grade classmates blew bubbles in tribute to his bubbly personality, and many wore LA Dodgers hats to support Drew’s favorite team.

In the midst of grief, loved ones find comfort through their faith.

“What we haven’t lost is this forever family. Physically they may be separated at the moment, but mentally they are definitely not. I mean, they’re a forever family,” Worthen said.

Five people died in this crash. The other victims are the pilot Spencer Lindahl and another passenger Rustin Randall. The family tells us that the driver of the car was Ray Longhi.

According to police, one person on board the plane, an 18-year-old who was related to the pilot, survived.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help the Kimball family.

We will keep you updated as soon as we learn more about the investigation into the cause of the accident.

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