Four Bay Area residents killed in plane crash
SANTA ANA >> The parents of two young children and two active members of the Persian community were among the four Bay Area residents aboard a small plane that crashed into a Santa Ana shopping center parking lot Sunday afternoon, killing all five aboard, authorities said.
The pilot was Scott Shepherd, 53, of Diablo, according to the Orange County coroner’s office. The passengers were his wife, Lara Shepherd, 42; Floria Hakimi, 62, of Danville and her 32-year-old son Navid Hakimi of Los Angeles; and Nasim Ghanadan, 30, of Alamo.
All five worked for Pacific Union International, a real estate brokerage company with offices in Danville and Southern California, a company
spokesman confirmed.
The 1973 Cessna 414 had left Concord’s Buchanan Field and was approaching John Wayne Airport when it went down shortly before 12:30 p.m. Sunday. It dove into an unoccupied red Chevy sedan parked in front of a CVS store in Santa Ana one block from South Coast Plaza shopping center. Firefighters said it was a “miracle” no one on the ground was injured.
The purpose of their trip was to participate in a real estate industry conference called the Tom Ferry Success Summit at the Anaheim Convention Center, according to Mark McLaughlin, CEO of Pacific Union International. He said Floria Hakimi, Lara Shepherd and Ghanadan were passionate Ferry followers.
“At our meeting today,
there were tears and sorrow, joy, disbelief and feelings of loss,” McLaughlin said. “Stories were told about our teammates that inspired amazing laughter, a sense of pride and lots of tears. We’re left with memories of our shared work and lives together that we will hold forever.”
The Hakimis and Ghanadan were well-known members of the Bay Area’s Persian community.
Floria Hakimi was a founder of the Persian Center in Berkeley, which aims to strengthen Persian identity through social and cultural activities and to share those with anyone interested in learning more. She gave $5,000 to the center at its beginning and helped create its vision, said Shahin Tabrizi, the center’s president.
“She was extremely helpful, well-connected and very well-liked,” Tabrizi told this news organization. “She had a fantastic energy
about her.”
Hakimi also was known for throwing lavish parties at her home, Tabrizi said.
Like many Persian-Americans, Hakimi immigrated to the United States during the Iranian Revolution of the late 1970s, she said on her website.
Her profile on the Pacific Union website said she was a resident of Diablo Valley since 1989 and “enjoys playing tennis, biking and spending time with her family and friends.” She was involved with Mothers Against Poverty, Operation Smile, Families Without Borders and the School of Practical Philosophy, according to the website.
Her son Navid Hakimi, a 2004 graduate of Monte Vista High School in Danville, was a well-known DJ and producer who performed under the name Navid Izadi. He was a member of the Crew Love and the Wolf + Lamb musical collectives, according
to Billboard magazine. He leaves behind a 2-year-old son.
Nasim Ghanadan, a 2006 graduate of Venture Independent Study in San Ramon, taught children the Farsi language at the Nima Farsi School in Danville and volunteered at Room to Read, a nonprofit focused on girls’ education in San Francisco.
“She was a very nonjudgmental person who was friends with people in all walks of life,” said her older sister Nazanin Ghanadan at their home in Alamo. “She loved cooking and was super active with working out. She wanted to travel and she wanted to fly her own plane one day.”
Nazanin Ghanadan said that Floria Hakimi was her sister’s mentor.
Mo Ghezavat, Nasim Ghanadan’s uncle, said Nasim loved dancing and when she walked into a room, all smiles, she would get people up to dance with her.
“She was so full of life. She loved bringing people together,” Ghezavat said. “We’re so heartbroken and are in disbelief and shock. This girl, it isn’t her time.”
Lara Shepherd recently updated her open Facebook page with a picture of two small children, 7-year-old son Roark and 5-year-old daughter Ava, who both attend Green Valley Elementary School in Danville. A comment underneath a post on that page Monday read “RIP Scott & Lara, praying for your two little angels.” Her profile on the Pacific Union website said she and Scott had two children.
Scott Shepherd was president and CEO of Category III Development, a real estate transactions and management company in San Francisco. Clients include regional and national public benefit corporations, large residential property management firms and regional health care systems.
At a Monday news conference,
Albert Nixon, senior aviation accident investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, said the pilot declared an emergency but did not say what it was. He said a preliminary report on the crash would likely be available next week.
“We’re here to gather the facts,” said Jack Vanover, another NTSB investigator. “We’ll be looking at all information regarding the pilot, airplane … environmental conditions.”
McLaughlin said Pacific Union is establishing a fund for the immediate relatives left behind, and more details about the fund would be available today.
Orange County Register reporter Alma Fausto contributed to this report. Contact Rick Hurd at 925945-4789, Jon Kawamoto at 510-748-1658, Aaron Davis at 408-859-5105 and Ali Tadayon at 408-8595289.