Randy Hamrick and his wife were at their home in Arvada, Colorado, last Friday when they heard a loud crash and saw a bright explosion. At first, they thought a train must have derailed from the track running parallel to their street.
Hamrick told KDVR News that it felt as if their house was going to collapse,
It felt like it was falling in. I mean, it was just that violent.
Shortly before the plane crashed, an unidentified pilot had called into the Jefferson County air traffic control tower, saying he would be forced to make an emergency landing.
The pilot appeared to attempt to land along the road next to the railroad track, but the plane's left wing hit a spruce tree, causing the plane to veer off the roadway and into a pickup truck, pushing the truck into the Hamrick's front yard before the plane finally came to a stop.
NTSB accident investigator Alex Lemishko told KDVR,
I'm sure what was going through the pilot's mind was ‘I see a roadway, I need to get this aircraft down, let's give it a shot.'
The plane then burst into flames, causing the glow that the Hamrick's witnessed from inside their house.
The photos of the wreckage are devastating:
Neighbors who witnessed the plane crash rushed to the scene and pulled all four passengers, including two children, from the wreckage. The four were taken to the hospital after suffering burns. One, a woman named Melissa Brinkmann, died on Monday.
Praying the other three can make full recoveries because of the quick actions of the local community.
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