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Driver rescues pilot, passenger after small plane crash in DeLand
New details are emerging about a small plane crash in DeLand after a woman who witnessed the incident rushed to help pull the occupants from the aircraft. The crash happened shortly after 2 p.m. Dec. 8 on Jacobs Road near Plymouth Avenue.
DELAND, Fla. - New details are emerging about a small plane crash in DeLand after a woman who witnessed the incident rushed to help pull the occupants from the aircraft.
The crash happened shortly after 2 p.m. Dec. 8 on Jacobs Road near Plymouth Avenue, when a small plane suddenly dropped from the sky and crash-landed in the northbound lane, narrowly missing passing vehicles, authorities said.
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One driver, Yessica Ramirez, said she initially thought the falling aircraft was a car before slamming on her brakes. She stopped just in time, then jumped out of her vehicle and ran toward the wreckage.
Ramirez and another witness forced open the plane’s door and helped rescue the pilot and a passenger from the cockpit.
"If I didn't hit my breaks, the aircraft would've hit me," she explained. "The first thing that went through my mind was I had to help the people get out!"
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She said the pilot appeared to have suffered a head injury, while the passenger, though shaken, was less seriously hurt.
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Deputies said the aircraft sustained significant damage. Neither of the two people on board suffered life-threatening injuries, officials said. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
The DeLand crash occurred the same day another small plane crashed along Interstate 95, striking a car, authorities said.
Ramirez said she never imagined witnessing — or responding to — such an incident, calling it a frightening moment that required an immediate, instinctive response.
The Source: This story was written based on information shared by Yessica Ramirez, who witnessed a small plane crash in DeLand on Dec. 8 and rushed to help the pilot and a passenger.