Vigil honors two of the Mesa plane crash victims

CHANDLER, AZ (AZFamily) — Hundreds of people gathered at Valencia Park in Chandler Saturday to honor two of the five victims in an East Valley plane crash that happened earlier this week.

Father and son, 44-year-old Drew and 12-year-old Grahm Kimball, were on board the jet when it slammed into a car outside of Falcon Field Airport on Tuesday in Mesa.

"I keep thinking that someone's gonna tell me it's not true, and then when you realize that it is. It's a nightmare, actually. So, pretty horrific," said family friend Katy May. She's the woman who organized the vigil.

The ceremony was held near 12-year-old Grahm's school, and many of his classmates, teammates and church members came together to show support.

"So much love and pain, but when you come together like this I mean you kind of mourn together. There's healing in that as well," said family friend Kyle Worthen. He led a prayer at the vigil.

The crowd held on to one another and candles as they listened to music in their memory.

Tragedy is not new to this family. Just 10 months ago, the Kimballs lost another teenage son to suicide.

"This is definitely an extension of pain and sorrow that they were still healing from. I don't think you ever heal completely from loss," said Worthen.

During the gathering, Grahm's 6th-grade classmates blew bubbles as a tribute to his bubbly personality, and many wore L.A. Dodgers hats in support of Drew's favorite team.

Amid their grief, loved ones are finding some comfort through their faith.

"What we haven't lost is this family forever. They might be separated in body right now, but definitely not in spirit. I mean, they're an eternal family," said Worthen.

Five people died in this crash. The other victims are the pilot, Spencer Lindahl, and another passenger, Rustin Randall. The family tells us the driver of the car was Ray Longhi.

Police say one person on board the plane survived, an 18-year-old related to the pilot.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help the Kimball family.

We'll keep you posted as we learn more about the investigation into what caused the wreck.