Within hours of the crash that killed six victims aboard the Cessna 550 that slammed onto a Murphy Canyon street, grieving colleagues at Sound Talent Group acknowledged the passing of the agency’s guiding light, Dave Shapiro.
“We are devastated by the loss of our co-founder, colleagues and friends,” agency officials said in a statement released Thursday. “Our hearts go out to their families and to everyone impacted by today’s tragedy.”
The statement noted the deaths of two others with the agency, but the firm waited to name the victims, who we now know were booking associates Kendall Fortner and Emma L. Huke.
The official death count remains at three – Shapiro, Huke and a third woman aboard the flight, Celina Marie Rose Kenyon, but friends and family have announced their deaths of Fortner, Dominic Damian and Daniel Williams.
They shared a love of music that took them to shows back east before they left New Jersey late Wednesday on the ill-fated flight. Much has been written about Shapiro, credited with being a groundbreaker on the music scene. Here’s what we know about his friends and colleagues:
Kendall Fortner
The San Diego State graduate “was hooked on music” from a young age thanks to her father, who took her to concerts.
The booking associate, 24, from Santa Clarita, showed an interest in working in the music industry as a teenager.
“When I was in high school, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what it was that I liked. And everything I tried, was something I gave up after like a week or month. It was a very short-lived interest,” she said. “But I’ve always been really into music. So I decided that that was something that I wanted to pursue as a full-time career.”
She shared her story as part of an SDSU compilation about 2021 graduates. She also discussed her progression from being an intern at the Belly Up in Solana Beach before joining Sound Talent Group.
Fortner studied business management with a focus on entrepreneurship at SDSU. She also was a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority.
Emma L. Huke
Huke, 25, too, knew from a young age that she wanted to work in the music industry.
“There was nothing Emma loved more than live music,” the agency said. She was also a booking associate said to have worked hard to save money to attend concerts and festivals.
NBC San Diego reported that her favorite performers to see live were Taylor Swift and the 1975. She hailed from Orange County and graduated from the University of Oregon before joining Sound Talent Group last year.
Dominic Damian
Friends recalled him online as accomplished in martial arts – not only was he was a black belt in jiu-jitsu, in also won medals in competition. A training center near Mission Bay is set to honor him Monday.
NBC San Diego said he was a friend of Shapiro’s. One memorial to the San Diego resident, who described himself as a software engineer and engineering manager, said simply, “rest easy, Dom.”
Celina Marie Rose Kenyon
According to a statement shared with NBC San Diego, Kenyon’s father Bryan Feldman called her “an amazing mother, daughter, sister, granddaughter, partner and friend” who was on the trip “to photograph and support her long-time friends.”
The professional photographer, 36, wrote that she specialized in lifestyle and music.
“Our family is devastated beyond these words,” her father wrote.
Dave Shapiro
It was the connections Shapiro, 42, made more than the music he played that made him successful.
He got into the industry playing in the band Count with Stars that he founded with friends while in high school. Shapiro helped bring the underground $10-a-show alternative scene in the 2010s to the mainstream. But he also was huge in creating a community, said Mike Shea, founder of Alternative Press Magazine.
“In this music industry, there are just too many people ripping people off and using people,” he said. “Dave was not like that.”
Shapiro, a licensed pilot, was listed as the plane’s owner. Officials have not said who was flying the plane.
Daniel Williams
Williams, 39, was a former drummer for the Ohio metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada, which is celebrated for the ability to marry melodic punk rock with metallic detours.
When Williams “was in the band, that’s when they broke out,” Shea said.
Thomas Gutches, who manages rock bands and artists, recalled Williams’ ability to captivate audiences as much as a band’s frontman typically does.
“Daniel was putting on a show from his style of playing,” he said.
The Devil Wears Prada was a client of Sound Talent Group.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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