Two people died Tuesday morning after a small plane crashed in the parking lot of a car dealership in southeast Ohio, authorities said.
The pilot and a passenger suffered fatal injuries in the crash, but there were no reported injuries to people on the ground, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said in a press release. Multiple vehicles and buildings at the Pioneer Buick GMC dealership near Marietta, Ohio were damaged in the crash, according to the release.
When Marietta police first arrived at the crash, a “large hot fire” was burning and producing “heavy smoke,” according to Capt. Aaron Nedeff. Video from the crash shared on social media showed dark smoke rising from the flames.
Marietta, a city of more than 13,000 residents, is just across the Ohio River from West Virginia. Bill Richardson, president of the Wood County Airport Authority, told the Marietta Times the plane was en route to the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport in Williamstown, West Virginia.
The cause of the crash was unclear, and it remains under investigation, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol. The National Transportation Safety Board was also investigating the crash.
Contact Breaking News Reporter N’dea Yancey-Bragg at nyanceybra@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @NdeaYanceyBragg
USA TODAY
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