Friends and family mourn Maryland couple killed in Christmas Eve plane crash
BALTIMORE -- Friends and family are mourning the loss of a Maryland teacher and her husband who were instantly killed when their family's plane plummeted to the ground on Christmas Eve. CBS Baltimore reports Victoria Shannon-Worthington was an English teacher, and Peter Worthington Jr. was a law student.
"He made a difference. It is important because it's people like him that spread the cheer and make the difference," said family friend Kathryn Gates-Skipper.
Neighbors described the Worthingtons as a charming young couple. They were married in June.
This would have been the couple's first Christmas together. The Worthingtons left their Baltimore home on Friday for the holiday.
Victoria, a 4th grade teacher at Baltimore International Academy Elementary/Middle School, wrote that she hoped to inspire a love of learning. She previously said "the students are the center — the heart and soul — of the classroom."
In addition to working on a law degree at the University of Maryland, Peter worked in video production. He made a video for his alma mater, McDonogh School, in Baltimore County.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, who responded to the crash, knew the family well. He said the fog on Christmas Eve was too thick for the plane to take off safely.
"I asked my pilot, who is by the way our senior pilot, 'Should anyone have been taking off in this fog?' They said, 'No sir. absolutely not,'" Judd said. "Certainly I wish we could rewind this. And if we could, I would wrestle him to the floor to keep him from getting in that airplane."
Visibility was less than one quarter of a mile when the plane crashed. The incident is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board.