Chicago area figure skaters hold benefit for victims of Washington, D.C. plane crash
A group of Chicago area figure skaters held a benefit on Friday to support the families of the figure skaters and coaches who were killed in a mid-air collision in January in Washington, D.C.
Figure skaters at Twin Rinks Ice Pavilion in Buffalo Grove used the ice as a way to express emotion, but it also allowed them to stop and grieve.
"It's been a very difficult month, and every time I skate, it's definitely very hard," said Jiaying Ellyse Johnson, who lost her friend Jinna Han when an American Airlines plane collided with a U.S. Army helicopter over the Potomac River in January.
The two had just seen each other at a training camp in Wichita, Kansas, the day before the deadly crash in D.C.
"Tonight, we'll take a big step into our grieving process, because we all helped organized this and it's a big night," Johnson said.
That's why, on Friday night, skaters gathered to honor the 28 members of the figure skating community who lost their lives in D.C.
For some, they were skating for the victims who were also their friends.
"Tonight, I'm paying a tribute to my friend Everly," said Ashley Vergamini, who was skating for 14-year-old Everly Livingston. "She was such a beautiful skater, and I looked up to her in so many ways."
For Johnson, she used her solo as a way to mourn her friend and all the victims. She said, while it's tough to come to terms with, it's a way to bring their skating community closer together.
"I think it will be a very long process of grief that we're still going through right now," she said.
Proceeds from Friday night's benefit will go to the U.S. Figure Skating Family Support Fund, which provides support to families of the 28 members of the skating community who died in the crash.