The 2022 winner of the prestigious Women’s Award of the Year of the NCAA, a former soccer player at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was one of the six victims killed in a plane crash in the state of New York on Saturday, according to a statement from his family.
Karenna Groff, a medical student at Nyu Langone in the neurosurgery department and a former soccer star at MIT, died when a double -engine turbopropulsor plane crashed 10 miles from Columbia County Airport near the city of Copake, New York, on Saturday afternoon.
Five others, including Groff’s partner, James Santoro, died in the accident, the family said.
This 2023 photo provided by John Santoro shows his son, James Santoro, and Karenna Groff, a former MIT player recently appointed the woman of the year of the NCAA.
Courtesy John Santoro through AP
“I really wanted to propose to his love, Karenna, this summer,” said the family in a statement provided to ABC News.
Only one woman every year is chosen as the woman of the year of the NCAA, with three finalists of divisions I, II and III. The honor has been awarded since 1991 and includes winners such as the member of the Basketball Hall Rebecca Lobo (1995), the swimmer of the Kimberly Black Olympic Medal (2001) and three times Jumper Olympian Keturah Orji (2018).
The passengers who died were all members of Groff’s family, including Groff’s parents, Joy Saini and Michael Groff; his brother, Jared Groff; And his partner, Alexia Couyutas Duarte, said the family.
Joy Saini was a pelvic surgeon and Michael Groff was a neurosurgeon, as his daughter was training, according to the family.
“We will remember them as the six bright, dynamic and loving people they were,” said the family. “Families ask for privacy during this difficult time.”
The family said information about funerals and commemorative monuments will be presented.
The graduate student of MIT Women’s Soccer, Karenna Groff, throws a ball before a baseball game in Fenway Park, on April 3, 2023, in Boston.
Charles Kupa/AP
During a press conference on Sunday, the National Transportation Board said that the pilot reported a “lost approach” and “asked the vectors for another approach.” The authorities said when the pilot returned: “The radar indicated a low altitude alert.”
An air traffic controller tried to “transmit this low altitude alert” and tried to contact the pilot three additional times, but was not successful, according to NTSB principal researcher for this incident, Albert Nixon.
“There was no response from the pilot and there was no call of anguish,” said Nixon.
The plane, which had left the Westchester County Airport to the Columbia County Airport, crashed “at a high descent rate” in a “flat agricultural field,” said the NTSB. This was the second flight of the day of the plane
This 2024 photo provided by John Santoro shows, from the left, Dr. Michael Groff, Karenna Groff, Dr. Joy Saini and James Santoro. (Courtesy John Santoro through AP)
Courtesy John Santoro through AP
The authorities did not say who was flying the plane, but the family statement said that Michael Groff was “an experienced pilot, who fell in love with flying after being taught by his father at the age of sixteen.”
During a press conference on Monday afternoon, the NTSB said that the pilot, who was also the owner of the plane, had to undergo additional training along with a pilot license, which was completed in October 2024.
A double -engine turbopropulsor plane crashed 10 miles from Columbia County Airport, near the city of Copake, New York, killing the six people on board.
NTSB
The authorities also declared that there were “deteriorated climatic conditions” near the scene of the accident.
The NTSB will remain on the site for the next five days to collect all the “perishable material” and a preliminary report on the investigation will be available in the next 30 days.
A double -engine turbopropulsor plane crashed 10 miles from Columbia County Airport, near the city of Copake, New York, killing the six people on board.
NTSB
Groff was captain of the soccer team of Division III of the MIT and finished his career in the second place of all time in goals and points in the school. She was an all-American of the second team as Junior and a third All-American team in her last season.
Ayesha Ali and Emme Marchese of ABC News contributed to this report
