Mesa grieves the tragic deaths of 'inseperable' father and son

Mesa, Arizona: Crowds of pepple gathere on a Mesa street to mourn the tragic passing of a father and son who died in a plane crash earlier this week. Families, friends, and community members lit candles and sang together in remembrance of two lives lost far too soon. The vigil was held near Grahm Kimball's school to remember the 12-year-old and his father Drew.

The Kimballs were described by those close to them as a joyful and inseparable pair.

“There was always a smile on their faces,” a close friend told ABC 15. “They brought such light into our lives. You’d never see them without that warmth.”

The crash happened around 4.45pm near Greenfield and McKellips roads, just southwest of Falcon Field Airport. According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), preliminary information indicates the jet attempted to abort takeoff before crashing through an airport perimeter fence and colliding with a vehicle on Greenfield Road. 

The crash claimed the lives of four out of the five passengers on board, as well as the driver of the vehicle the plane struck. The sole survivor from the aircraft, who sustained severe burn injuries, is currently hospitalized and receiving treatment. Witnesses in the area reported hearing a loud impact and seeing smoke and flames billowing from the crash site.

The identities of those killed on the plane are: Spencer Lindahl, 43; Rustin Randall, 48; Drew Kimball, 44; Grahm Kimball, 12 and the driver of the vehicle Ray Longhi.

For the Kimball family, the loss adds another layer of sorrow to an already challenging time, as they had been in the process of healing from the suicide of another loved one earlier this year.

Friends describe the community’s support as essential during these moments of compounded loss. “It’s a pain that doesn’t just go away,” they told ABC 15. “We’re all trying to heal, holding onto each other and onto the memories of Grahm and Drew.”