EL CAJON, Calif. — Four people killed Monday in a small plane crash in East County San Diego were remembered Sunday night at a candlelight vigil in their honor held near the site of the crash. The two pilots and two nurses were on board the flight headed to Gillespie Field airport in El Cajon after taking a medical patient to Orange County when it went down.
The four victims of the plane crash were identified as Julian Jorge Bugaj, Laurie Gentz, Douglas James Grande, and Tina Ward by the San Diego Medical Examiner's office on Wednesday.
The family of pilot Doug Grande, 42, released a statement saying in part:
“It is very difficult to find the words to describe such an incredible man. Doug had a heart of gold and brought joy and happiness to everyone he met. He was an exceptional husband, father, brother, son and friend."
The family of the other pilot set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to help Julian Jorge Bugaj's family with funeral expenses.
The family said he was an aviation enthusiast for decades and worked his way into becoming a CFI (Certified Flight Instructor), flying Learjets for Aeromedevac.
Nurse Laurie Gentz was initially identified in a social media post by International Association of EMTs and Paramedics. In the post, the organization offered "sincere condolences for the devastating and sudden loss of Local 162 President Laurie Gentz, her fellow passengers and the Learjet flight crew."
Nurse Tina Ward was identified as the wife of a retired local fire chief. In an Instagram post, the Oceanside Firefighters Association offered condolences to Tina's husband - recently retired Oceanside Fire Chief Joe Ward - and featured a photo of the couple.
Joe Ward set up a GoFundMe for the "Tina Ward Memorial Scholarship Fund" where people are asked in lieu of flowers or funeral donations to donate to the fund in her memory and that all funds donated will go directly toward scholarships for underrepresented students working on furthering their careers in EMS.
The crash was reported at about 7:15 p.m. Monday near the 1200 block of Pepper Drive and North Mollison Avenue in the unincorporated El Cajon neighborhood of Bostonia.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are handling the investigation which is ongoing.
Anyone who witnessed the crash or has photos or videos from the scene was asked to email witness@ntsb.gov.
Monday's crash came less than three months after a small aircraft crashed in another East County San Diego neighborhood killing two people and destroying two homes. The Oct. 11 plane crash in Santee claimed the lives of the pilot Dr. Sugata Das and a UPS driver who was struck on the ground Steve Krueger.
WATCH RELATED: Victims of East County San Diego plane crash remembered