A small plane crash Wednesday afternoon in southern Colorado killed all three people on board.
The crash happened at about 2:40 p.m. in Mineral County near Creede, according to Allen Kenitzer, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman.
The Cessna 320 twin-engine aircraft crashed near Colorado 149 and Rio Grande National Forest Road 801, under unknown circumstances. An FAA and NTSB investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing.
Two of the three who died were identified by the Mineral County Coroner’s Office.
Jere Ferrill, 51, of Castle Rock, the pilot, and 17-year-old David Louwers, of Longmont, a passenger, died in the crash, said Charles Downing, Mineral County coroner.
Louwers was about to enter his senior year at Niwot High School, Denver7 Marc Stewart confirmed. His principal said flying and football were his passions.
“It’s a huge loss for our Niwot high school family. David’s really going to be missed,” said principal Eric Rauschkolb.
“He was the embodiment of what you want a high school student to be. He was funny, he was happy. He was friends to everybody.”
Louwers had just returned from football camp.
“That was a really big part of David’s life... football, his teammates, the Niwot Cougars and just school pride. He loved it all,” said Rauschkolb.
David also made his mark in the classroom, sharing a strong bond his Spanish teacher…a reflection of how his lived his young life.
“He is what you want a teenager to be - positive, hardworking and just going for it,” he said.
The football team had a small gathering Thursday morning to reflect on his life. Niwot High School will have grief counselors available Friday morning.
A third person, a man, was not identified pending notification of his family.
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