At least seven people were killed and 24 injured when a medevac jet crashed into a northeast Philadelphia neighbourhood on January 31. The aircraft was up in flames and the debris flew into homes and vehicles. Among those affected were three young children, two barely escaped with their lives.
Ten-year-old Andre Howard Jr. was struck by debris while shielding his four-year-old sister. Eleven-year-old Valentina Guzman Murillo, who had just been discharged from the hospital after battling spina bifida, died in the crash alongside her mother. And nine-year-old Ramesses Dreuitt suffered severe burns after his father's car was engulfed in flames.
Andre Howard Jr had just left Dunkin' Donuts with his family when disaster struck. "We heard a boom, a really loud boom, and we saw a fireball that covered the whole entire sky," his father, Andre Howard Sr, recalled to CNN.
As debris rained down, young Andre instinctively covered his sister. He was knocked unconscious by a metal fragment that lodged in his head. His father rushed him to the hospital, where doctors feared he might never walk again. But after emergency surgery, he is now stable and expected to recover.
When he regained consciousness, his first question was, "Did I save her from the crash?"
Ramesses Dreuitt, 9, was in his father's car when the crash triggered a deadly fire. His grandmother, Virgen Viera, recognised him in a viral video - his small, burned body emerging from the flames. His father, 37-year-old Steven Dreuitt, did not survive.
The little boy, suffering burns on 90 per cent of his body, is now in a coma in a Boston burn unit. His family has asked for prayers as he fights to recover.
Valentina Guzman Murillo, 11, had just been released from Shriners Children's Philadelphia hospital after receiving treatment for spina bifida. She and her mother, Lizeth Murillo Osuna, were flying home to Mexico when their medevac jet crashed.
"The plan was to bring them home to live out the rest of her life surrounded with love and with her adoring family," said Susan Marie Fasino, who had been helping the family. Hospital staff gathered earlier that day to bid farewell to Valentina. "She will be remembered for her sweet spirit," Shriners spokesperson Mel Bower told CNN.
