Carlos Fernandez,Trinadette Chavez Obituary, Death; – A grandfather and his young granddaughter. An electrician with two young children. A woman standing in line at a scrap metal business.
They were among the 14 individuals who perished in the devastating crash of a UPS aircraft in Louisville last week. Their identities were disclosed on Wednesday as Mayor Craig Greenberg expressed sorrow over the lives that will “forever be unfinished.”
“As we announce the names of those we have lost, our city bears the full burden of this unimaginable tragedy,” Greenberg stated during a press conference. “Behind each of these names lies a network of family, friends, and stories that will remain forever incomplete.”
Eight days following the incident, in which the plane crashed to the ground in a massive fireball, the local coroner’s office reported that it had completed the somber tasks of recovering the victims’ remains, identifying them, and informing their families. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are still present at the crash site, according to Greenberg.
The victims included three pilots who were aboard during the crash that occurred during takeoff at UPS Worldport, the company’s global aviation hub situated at Muhammad Ali International Airport. They were Capt. Richard Wartenberg, First Officer Lee Truitt, and International Relief Officer Capt. Dana Diamond.
Dramatic footage captured the aircraft colliding with businesses and igniting in a fireball. Video from witnesses and security cameras has provided investigators with evidence of the events from various perspectives.
Authorities believe that all victims have been located and identified, Greenberg confirmed on Wednesday.
John Spray, 45, lost his life at Grade A Auto Parts & Recycling when the plane struck the establishment. The mother of his child, Tifany Torok, mentioned in a GoFundMe campaign for Spray’s daughter that he “was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
The family of Louisnes Fedon, 47, said “his death has created a sudden and immense void that goes far beyond emotional grief”; a GoFundMe was set up by a friend of Fedon’s children. Like Spray, relatives say Fedon and his 3-year-old granddaughter, Kimberly Asa, were in the wrong place at the wrong time when the plane crashed to the ground just off the runway.
Matthew Sweets, 37, was severely burned and died days later. He worked as an electrician and had two young children, Cohen and Rayne, according to his obituary.
Another victim, Ella Petty Whorton, 31, was at the recycling business when the crash occurred. Her boyfriend, Eric Richardson, said they worked together collecting scrap metal to help make a living. They had been a couple for more than a year after being introduced by a mutual friend.
“She was a great person,” Richardson said this week by phone. “Everybody loved her. I miss her so much.”
Others killed in the crash were Angela Anderson, 45; Carlos Fernandez, 52; Trinadette Chavez, 37; Tony Crain, 65; John Loucks, 52; and Megan Washburn, 35. Officials haven’t publicly shared details about them, including where they were when the plane crashed.
Greenberg credited the coroner’s office for “working tirelessly, under incredibly challenging conditions,” to recover the victims’ remains, identify them and notify the families.
“I had a family member ask me yesterday, ‘how do you ever get used to this?’ And I said, ‘I don’t,” Jefferson County Coroner Jo-Ann Farmer. “If I get used to this and it doesn’t bother me anymore, I’m in the wrong profession.”
