CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A memorial service is deliberate for Friday in Charlotte for former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, his family and others who had been killed in a aircraft crash final month.
The service, which is open to the general public and will probably be livestreamed on NASCAR platforms, was scheduled to start at 11 a.m. EST at Bojangles Coliseum.
Biffle was amongst seven killed alongside together with his spouse, Cristina, and kids Ryder, 5, and Emma, 14, when the plane crashed as it returned to the airport in Statesville, North Carolina, in accordance to authorities. Others on the aircraft had been recognized as Dennis Dutton, his son Jack, and Craig Wadsworth.
The explanation for the crash continues to be underneath investigation by the NTSB.
The 55-year-old Biffle was chosen by NASCAR as one among its high 75 drivers in historical past, was a Hall of Fame nominee for the inventory automotive sequence and drove for 18 years on the high of the game. He drew headlines final 12 months with tireless humanitarian efforts as a helicopter pilot supplying support within the devastation left behind by Hurricane Helene.
The Cessna C550 erupted in flames when it hit the bottom shortly after it had departed Statesville Regional Airport, about an hour’s drive north of Charlotte. The aircraft crashed whereas making an attempt to return and land, authorities stated.
In a letter written by Nicole Biffle that she was too grief-stricken to learn herself at her daughter’s service, she agonized over her choice to enable Emma to fly that day understanding Emma wasn’t feeling nicely. She had bought tickets to Italy as a gift for her daughter the night time earlier than the crash.
The crash every week earlier than Christmas left the NASCAR community shaken and was one other blow in a protracted offseason. Ten days later, on the 52nd marriage ceremony anniversary of Denny Hamlin’s mother and father, the home the longer term Hall of Famer constructed to repay them for his or her years of sacrifice burned down. His father, Dennis, was killed, and Mary Lou Hamlin was rushed to a hospital burn unit.
Sheriff’s deputies are additionally investigating an alleged break-in and theft last week at Biffle’s home in Mooresville that netted $30,000 in money, some weapons and memorabilia.
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