The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
42°F
Current Conditions
Overcast clouds
View complete weather report

Color Scheme

Subscribe now

Final plane crash victim identified

A salvage barge on Lake Coeur d’Alene pulled up wreckage from a plane crash on Friday. Eight people died when two planes collided over the lake on July 5, 2020. (Kathy Plonka/The Spokesman-Review)
By Riley Haun rileyh@spokesman.com(509) 459-5445

The last of eight victims of the July 5 plane crash over Lake Coeur d’Alene has been identified by the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office.

David E. Sorensen, 57, was from Clayton, California. He was a passenger on the de Havilland seaplane that collided with a Cessna TU206G on July 5, killing all eight occupants of the two planes.

Other occupants on the seaplane included Sean Fredrickson, 48, of Lake Oswego, Oregon, his three children, Hayden, Sofie and Quinn, and pilot Neil Lunt, 58. Sorensen was not related to the other passengers, according to a release from the sheriff’s office. The seaplane was operated by Brooks Seaplanes, a Coeur d’Alene company.

On Thursday, Brooks Seaplanes released a statement via Facebook confirming their plane’s involvement in the crash and remembering Lunt, the family-run company’s owner.

“Our family lost a great man,” the statement reads in part. “A father, a husband, an all round family man and a friend to everyone he came into contact with. We will miss him greatly.”

The release from the sheriff’s office also officially identified the two passengers of the Cessna, Jay Cawley, 67, and Kelly Kreeger, 61. Cawley was a longtime pilot and resident of Lewiston, Idaho, while Kreeger was from Rocklin, California.

Family and friends had previously confirmed Kreeger and Cawley to be involved in the crash, but the sheriff’s office did not officially identify them until Monday pending approval from the coroner’s office.

All eight victims have been recovered from the crash site on the lake floor as of Thursday, according to the sheriff’s office.

The National Transportation Safety Board will handle the rest of the investigation, including determining the cause of the accident, the statement said.

Terry Williams, NTSB spokesperson, said Monday it will be at least a year before final determination of the cause can be made. However, Williams said, a preliminary cause could be released once the investigation gets further underway.

Most of the wreckage of the two planes has now been salvaged from the lake floor, Williams said. The wreckage has been transported to a secure location for investigation by NTSB.

Editor’s note: This story was changed on July 15, 2020 to correct the spelling of David E. Sorensen and to correct the date of the crash.