The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It was
supposed to be a family trip to the beach to celebrate a wedding
anniversary. But on Tuesday, a Georgia family lost its second member to
the unimaginable: An airplane crash- landing on a Florida beach,
striking a father and daughter.
The 9-year-old girl hit by the
plane while on the beach with her father has died, the Sarasota County
Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday. Oceana Irizarry, of Fort Stewart, had
been in critical condition since Sunday afternoon, when both she and her
father were hit by the plane as it landed on Caspersen Beach in Venice.
Sgt. 1st Class Ommy Irizarry, 36, died at the scene of the crash.
Moments
before the crash, the pilot of the 1972 Piper Cherokee radioed that he
was having trouble, couldn’t make it to the nearest airport and was
going to try to land on the beach. Witnesses said the plane was quiet as
it landed, hitting the father and daughter. Neither the pilot nor his
passenger were injured in the crash, which remains under investigation.
The
day of the crash, Ommy Irizarry posted on Facebook a loving tribute to
his wife. It was the couple’s ninth wedding anniversary.
“Today, 9
years ago, I tied my life to my beautiful wife, Rebecca Irizarry,” the
soldier posted. “Wow, how fast time has passed! They say time flies when
you are having fun. It is true. Thank you for being with me through
thick and thin. I love you with all my heart, mi Roma. I am very happy
and can’t wait to see what the next 100 have in store for us. I love
you, Becci.”
On Monday, Rebecca Irizarry posted pictures of a
smiling family of five in the ocean, likely the final photo of the five
together.
Ommy Irizarry, a native of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, joined
the Army in 2002 and was twice deployed to Iraq, a Fort Stewart-Hunter
Army Airfield spokesman said. He moved to Fort Stewart in 2010.
An online fundraising page on GoFundMe.com was created Tuesday to assist the Irizarry family.
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