WEST JORDAN, Utah — Cindy Bond has lived in her West Jordan neighborhood for more than 30 years and never expected to receive the call she did on Saturday.
She was out shopping when she found out her son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren were in their home when a plane leaving South Valley Regional Airport crashed into their neighbor's house around 1:30 p.m.
- Related story: Two adults, one child killed in West Jordan plane crash
"I was shaking so hard, I could hardly get home," she said. "My other son was driving — thank heavens, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to.”
Her family members who were home at the time didn't know what happened when they heard the noise.
“They felt the house shake, they felt a big boom and they went outside to see," Bond said. "'Oh my gosh, is it another earthquake? I don’t know what it is,' and they got out there and found out that it was a plane crash.”
Her son jumped into action, helping in any way that he could.
“My son tried to put out some of the fire with the hose, but that wouldn’t do it because it was sparking and everything," she said.
He wasn’t the only one who rushed to save the people injured in the crash. In such a close-knit community, dozens of neighbors jumped in, trying to save everyone from the massive flames.
As they wait for answers, Bond says she’ll continue to do what she’s done for the last 30 years: support her neighbors and help those who are dealing with this tragic accident.
“Just really upset that that happened so close and that so many people got hurt. It’s just really bad,” Bond said.
Larry Jones saw a woman standing on her balcony — on fire — and rushed to help rescue her.
"It was just engulfed in flames. It was just done," Jones said. “The lady that lived in the house, you heard her screaming.”
The woman was taken to hospital and is in critical condition. FOX 13 spoke to her brother, Joe Murillo Jr.
"It’s terrible. It’s terrible," he said. "I lost my mom and dad, and that’s the only sister I've got. I hope I don’t lose her.”
During the chaos of the fire, some people say it took a minute before they realized what caused it.
“I turned to the right noticed there was a plane," Jones said. "I hadn’t event noticed the plane.”
The things bystanders saw when they jumped into action are sticking with them.
“What I couldn’t get out of my head was the view of the baby,” Adrian Ramirez said.
A 9-month-old girl was on the plane and died in the crash, and a 2-year-old boy also on board is in the hospital in stable condition.
Ramirez gave one of the children CPR before beginning to help douse the flames on the plane. He also helped pull out the pilot, who later died from his injuries.
"I’d like to see them and see who made it out, just to see them," Ramirez said.
