The private plane crashed in upstate New York on Saturday carried close family and famous student-athletes tied up to travel to the Catskill to mark their 25th birthday and Passover holiday.
The Twin-Engine aircraft, the Mitsubishi Mu-2B, had all six on board on a muddy field in New York near Massachusetts, Saturday afternoon, according to a family member who spoke with the Associated Press.
The victims included Karen Nagroff, a former MIT soccer player who was recently named NCAA Woman of the Year. her father, neuroscientist Dr. Michael Groff; According to James’ father, John Santoro, her mother, Dr. Joy Saini, urologist and boyfriend of Karenna Groff, James Santoro, is another recent MIT alumnus. It was believed that Karenna Groff’s brother and his girlfriend were also on board, Santoro said.
“They were a great family,” Santoro told The Associated Press. “The world has lost many very good people who were going to do a lot of good things for the world if they had the opportunity. We are all personally devastated.”
Santoro said his son first met Groff as a freshman studying at MIT. Groff, who grew up in Weston, Massachusetts, was a national soccer player studying biomedical engineering. Santoro, a mathematics major in New Jersey, played lacrosse at school.
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This 2024 photo provided by John Santoro shows Dr. Michael Groff, Karenna Groff, Dr. Joy Saini and James Santoro from left. (Courtesy John Santoro via AP)
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Groff co-founded Openppe to help create new designs of masks for essential workers. In 2023, she received the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year Award for her on-field and off-field achievements.
“Really, this perception is a testament to my MIT women’s soccer family and all the guidance, support and friendship they have provided me over the years,” she said in an interview at the time.
After graduation, Santoro and Groff moved to Manhattan, where they enrolled in New York University’s medical school as investment associates for Silver Point, a Greenwich, Connecticut-based hedge fund.
According to John Santoro, on Saturday morning they went to the airport in White Plains, a suburb of New York City.
They were set to land at Columbia County Airport, but crashed about 20 miles (32 km) south.
“It’s in the middle of the field and it’s quite muddy, so accessibility is difficult,” Columbia County Rep. Jacqueline Salvatore said at a press conference on Saturday.
The National Transportation Safety Board has launched an investigation and is expected to provide an update on Sunday evenings. Funeral arrangements were underway, Santoro said.
“The 25 years we were with James was the best year of our lives,” he added.
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