October 11, 2021
Two structures were destroyed in the fire after the plane came down near Santana High School in Santee, and two or three others were damaged as well
The doctor piloting a twin-engine Cessna C340 that crashed Monday in Santee near Santana High School has been identified as one of at least two people killed in the incident, officials said.

The plane was headed to San Diego from Yuma, Arizona, had some sort of issue and was attempting to land at Gillespie Field, which is near the high school, when it crashed on a nearby street at around 12:15 p.m.

ccording to witnesses, the plane, which had tail number N7022G, went down along Greencastle Street where it intersects with Jeremy Streets. The wing of the plane clipped a UPS truck that was nearing a stop sign, killing the driver. The fuselage then slid toward two homes and exploded, witnesses said.

The chief medical officer of the Yuma Regional Medical Center confirmed early on Monday evening that the pilot of the plane was a colleague.

Shortly before 2 p.m. at a news conference near the crash scene, Santee Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Justin Matsushita confirmed that at least two people died in the crash or the ensuing fire.

"It's a pretty brutal scene for our guys and we're trying to comb through it," Matsushita said, adding that he was unsure if there were additional fatalities. He did say that the debris field from the crash extended nearly a block to the southeast.