EDITOR’S NOTE: Multiple people were killed and several were injured after a plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood. Multimedia journalist Bree Steffen spoke with neighbors who were forced to evacuate in the early morning hours with no warning. Click the arrow above to watch the video.

SAN DIEGO — The music agency Sound Talent Group said Thursday that three of its employees, including co-founder Dave Shapiro, died on the private plane that crashed into a San Diego neighborhood.

Shapiro is listed as the owner of the plane and has a pilot’s license, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Shapiro also owned a flight school called Velocity Aviation and a record label, Velocity Records, according to his LinkedIn page.

The agency didn’t share the names of the other two employees who died.

“We are devastated by the loss of our co-founder, colleagues and friends. Our hearts go out to their families and to everyone impacted by today’s tragedy,” the agency said in a statement.

Sound Talent Group has represented artists including American pop band Hanson, American singer-songwriter Vanessa Carlton, and Canadian rock group Sum 41. Hanson is perhaps best known for its earworm 1990s pop hit, “MMMBop.”

American rock bands such as rosecoloredworld and Concrete Castles and the Japanese heavy metal band, Nemophila, are signed to Shapiro’s Velocity Records.

According to the band The Devil Wears Prada, one of the victims is their former drummer.

Shapiro also owned a flight school, Velocity Aviation.

San Diego authorities earlier said two people had died. The total number of fatalities is unknown, but six people were on board the plane, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The private jet crashed early Thursday into a neighborhood of U.S. Navy-owned housing in San Diego during foggy weather, igniting at least one home and numerous vehicles parked on the street. The plane clipped power lines before slamming into the house, said Elliot Simpson with the National Transportation Safety Board.

Several people were injured while trying to flee after the crash just before 4 a.m. in Murphy Canyon, the largest neighborhood of Navy-owned housing in the country. Others were treated for smoke inhalation, authorities said.

Elizabeth Loredo said she only had time to grab a diaper bag before she and her husband evacuated with their three kids and two dogs.

“My daughter came into my room and she was crying, saying that there’s a fire outside; and I brushed it off because I thought she was having a nightmare so I said ‘oh go put Bluey on’ and then I hear banging on my door," Loredo said. "And I look outside and all the fires on the other side of the street, all on fire. And I freaked out.”

Loredo, who is active duty serving in the Navy, and all the other families on her street were also evacuated.

San Diego Fire Captain Scott Fuller tried to help ease worry on a stressful day. He was able to give one woman’s dog food and water after she was forced to leave him behind in the evacuation zone.

“We’re inside the tape and people tell us they got a pet in the house; it’s the least I can do,” Fuller said. “Our assignment currently is just kind of keep an eye on the cars that are smoldering right here and we’re going to be here awhile so if people need help up and down this street, it’s the least we can do is help them out.”

San Diego Humane Society said their medical team helped some of the pets from the crash area by giving them a decontamination bath to clean jet fuel from their fur.  

With the crash still under intense investigation and cleanup still ahead, Loredo doesn’t know when they will be allowed to return to their home.  

“We booked a hotel because we have no family here; the closest one is Temecula and I think I have to work tomorrow so I have to be close by,” she said. “I’m just lucky I was off today and was able to get my family out.”

Neighborhood hit hard

At least one home was destroyed, with its front heavily burned, and its roof partially collapsed. About 10 others suffered damage at the site where half a dozen vehicles were melted and scorched into burned shells.

Ariya Waterworth said she woke up to a “whooshing sound” and then saw a giant fireball outside. She screamed for help as firefighters arrived and helped her get out with her two children and their family dog.

One of the family’s cars was “completely disintegrated,” and the other had extensive damage. Her yard was littered with plane parts, broken glass and debris.

“I definitely do feel blessed because we’ve been spared,” she said.

San Diego police officer Anthony Carrasco said five people from a single family were taken to a hospital for smoke inhalation after evacuating to a nearby school. Another person was treated at a hospital for injuries sustained while climbing out of a window trying to flee. Two others were treated for minor injuries at the scene.

At least 100 residents were evacuated, police said, with surrounding blocks cordoned off with yellow police tape and checkpoints. Jet fuel rolled down Salmon Street hours after the crash. The smell of fuel lingered in the air while authorities worked to extinguish one stubborn car fire that sent smoke billowing up.

“I can’t quite put words to describe what the scene looks like, but with the jet fuel going down the street, and everything on fire all at once, it was pretty horrific to see,” San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said.

The plane originates from a small New Jersey airport

San Diego officials haven’t released details about the plane but said it was a flight from the Midwest.

The flight tracking site FlightAware lists a Cessna Citation II jet scheduled to arrive at the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive airport in San Diego at 3:47 a.m. from the small Colonel James Jabara Airport in Wichita, Kansas. Officials at the Kansas airport said it made a fueling stop in Wichita. The flight, according to FlightAware, originated Wednesday night in Teterboro, New Jersey, about 6 miles (10 kilometers) from Manhattan and is an airfield frequently used by private and corporate jets.

Audio recorded by www.liveATC.net includes a brief transmission from the pilot calling out that he was on final approach to the Montgomery-Gibbs airport and was about three miles out at 3:45 a.m.

The plane is owned by Daviation LLC, based in Alaska, and its owner held a pilot’s license, according to Federal Aviation Administration records. Public records show the owner also had at least one address in San Diego. The Associated Press couldn’t immediately reach the owner, his family or business partners.

Rescuers help residents and pets escape

Christopher Moore, who lives one street over from the crash site, said he and his wife were awakened by a loud bang. They grabbed their three young boys and ran out of the house. On their way out of the neighborhood, they saw a car engulfed in flames.

“It was definitely horrifying for sure, but sometimes you’ve just got to drop your head and get to safety,” he said.

Police officers rescued multiple animals, including three husky puppies that were rolled away in a wagon. A few blocks away, families, including Moore's, stood in a parking lot waiting to learn when they could return to their homes.

The weather may have played a role in the crash

Eddy said it was very foggy at the time the private plane crashed. “You could barely see in front of you," he said. Officials were looking into whether the plane had clipped a power line before crashing into the neighborhood that is about 2 miles from the Montgomery-Gibbs airport.

City Councilmember Raoul Castillo said residents told him dramatic stories “about military families helping military families out of their homes, jumping out of windows and avoiding fire.”

The FAA said the National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation.

At that hour and in foggy weather, the plane was likely operating on an instrument flight rules plan, which is typically used during reduced visibility, said Barry Newman, a board-certified aviation attorney.

However, for that airport, once the aircraft reaches 673 feet, the pilot also has to rely on his sight.

“If a pilot descends to that level and he can’t see the runway, he has to call for a missed approach or divert to another airport,” Newman said.

In October 2021, a twin-engine plane plowed into a San Diego suburb, killing the pilot and a UPS delivery driver on the ground and burning homes. It was preparing to land at the airport.

In December 2008, a U.S. Marine Corps fighter jet slammed into a house in San Diego’s University City neighborhood, causing an explosion that killed four people inside. The Marine Corps blamed the crash on mechanical failure and human error.