WESTON, Mass. — The Weston community is in mourning following the loss of a family after a plane crash in upstate New York over the weekend.
At a briefing on Monday, Todd Inman, an official with the National Transportation Safety Board, said the overcast conditions may have impacted the pilot’s visibility, though the exact cause of the crash remains unknown. The initial investigation had not turned up any issues with the aircraft, a Mitsubishi MU-2B, Inman said.
The twin-engine Mitsubishi MU-2B private plane was on its way to the Catskills for a birthday celebration and the Passover holiday when it went down into a muddy field in Copake near the Massachusetts border killing everyone on board.
Among the victims were Karenna Groff, a former MIT soccer player named the 2022 NCAA woman of the year; her father, a neuroscientist, Dr. Michael Groff; her mother, Dr. Joy Saini, a urogynecologist; her brother, Jared Groff, a 2022 graduate of Swarthmore College who worked as a paralegal; James Santoro, Karennas boyfriend and another recent MIT graduate and Alexia Couyutas Duarte, Jared Groff’s partner.
Kareena and Jared were both graduates of Weston High School. Weston Public Schools superintendent Dr. Karen Zalenski and Weston High School principal Sue Bairstow, released a statement to the community on Sunday.
“We are deeply saddened to hear the news of a terrible tragedy involving the Groff family, all valued and beloved members of our Weston Public School community,” the statement said. “Their lives ended far too soon, and our hearts are with all those who are grieving this unimaginable and sudden loss,” the statement went on to say.
John Santoro, James’ father, tells Boston 25 his son first met Groff as a freshman at MIT. Groff, was an All-American soccer player studying biomedical engineering at MIT and was named the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year.
“Still couldn’t believe it was true. I still don’t believe it’s true,” John Santoro said.
According to Santoro, the couple were excited to embark on a new chapter in New York City after both graduating from MIT, and were planning to get engaged this summer.
“Out of respect for the family and especially for our student who is grieving the loss of her loved ones, we ask that all members of our community honor their privacy during this deeply personal time,” Zalenski said. “Our role as a school community is to surround them with quiet care, compassion, and space to heal,” she added
The school district is making counselors available for students and providing guidance for anyone who may have questions.
The school also wrote that a family member who was not on the plane is a student at the high school.
“In moments like this, we are reminded of the strength of our community and the importance of being there for one another,” the school said.
According to the AP, the plane was set to land at Columbia County Airport but crashed roughly 10 miles to the south. According to the NTSB a full accident report could take between 12 and 24 months to complete.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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