Saturday, October 03, 2015

Warsaw Council Member, Sprint Car Driver Among Four Killed In Plane Crash

Charlie Smith's crashed planed (Greenville News photo)
Four Warsaw, Indiana residents were killed in a small plane crash near Clemson, South Carolina, including a Warsaw council member and sprint car driver Tony Elliott. The single-engine plane piloted by Charlie Smith was en route to Clemson, South Carolina for today's game between Notre Dame and Clemson when it crashed on the bank of Lake Hartwell near Clemson along the state border with Georgia while approaching the Oconee County Regional Airport.

The plane, which was registered to Smith Family Aviation, LLC, claimed the lives of Smith, a Warsaw council member and former Tippy Valley football coach, his son, Warsaw attorney Scott Smith, another former Tippy Valley football coach Scott Bibler, and Bibler's son-in-law, sprint car driver Tony Elliott according to WNDU-TV.

Weather conditions in the area were described as dismal by local authorities at the time of the crash. A mayday transmission came from the Piper plane at 3:15 p.m. just two minutes before its scheduled arrival at the airport. Debris from the plane was scattered over a one-mile area both in the lake and a neighboring wooded area.

Tony Stewart Racing Tweeted about the "tragic passing of our competitor and friend" late last night.
Tony Elliott, one of the four victims of yesterday's plane crash

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