GAITHERSBURG, Md. — On a cold Friday night, a crowd gathered in the cul- de-sac of Drop Forge Lane, just steps away from a home where a plane crashed on Monday.
Six people died when a jet crashed into the home near Montgomery Airpark. Three of victims were members of the same Gaithersburg family and lived in the home.
Marie Gemmell, 36, and her sons, 3-year-old Cole and baby Devin, all lost their lives.
On board the Embraer 500 jet were Chikioke Ogbuka, 31, Michael Rosenberg, 66, and David Hartman, 52, all of Raleigh, North Carolina, according to Montgomery County police.
Near where the young Gemmell family lived, neighbors lit candles and stood in silence as they looked at what was left of the home.
Qasim Yousafzai lives a few homes down from the crash site. His wife called police when it happened.
“This is the pain which we are passing through because of this huge tragedy that happened within our community.”
Neighbors, friends and caring strangers hold vigil outside the Gemmell home. (WTOP/Mike Murillo)
Gemmel leaves behind a husband, Ken, and her 5-year-old daughter, Arabelle.
David Terusiak, who organized the vigil, remembers seeing the the family at his home while trick-or-treating. He says his heart goes out to his neighbor and his daughter.
“I can’t imagine what he is possibly going through,” said Terusiak.
“There is no words, absolutely no words,” said Maxine Blank of Gaitherburg who was nearby when the crash happened. She recalls the smoke, then the falling ash in the moments after the crash.
Not everyone at the vigil leaves in the neighborhood though. Ketreia Moore of Gaithersburg heard the tragic story and came to pay her respects.
“The fact that I heard that she was covering them after the plane crashed was just what any mother would do,” Moore said.
Police have said Marie Gemmell was found laying on top of her sons in the bathroom, likely trying to protect them from the smoke.
As the community looks to heal, the crash remains under investigation.
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