Just before a fatal plane crash took the lives of retired NASCAR champion Greg Biffle and his family in North Carolina on Thursday, his wife Cristina Biffle sent her mother a heartbreaking text message acknowledging their situation in three poignant words.
“She texted me from the plane and said, ‘We’re in trouble.'” her mother Cathy Grossu confirmed through tears to People on Friday. “So we’re devastated. We’re heartbroken.”
The early morning crash killed a total of seven people on Thursday, including 55-year-old Greg Biffle, his 35-year-old wife Cristina, their five-year-old son Ryder and Biffle’s 14-year-old daughter Emma, whom he shared with his ex-wife Nicole Lunders.
Grossu told People that Greg and Cristina Biffle were at her home just one day before the crash, confirming that they were heading to Florida for a “birthday trip.” Greg Biffle would turn 56 next Tuesday.
“I don’t remember the last words I said to my daughter, Greg or my precious Ryder,” she told the outlet. “I don’t remember. I know we hugged, but I can’t remember those last words and they will always haunt me. But they were happy.”
Registered pilot Dennis Dutton and his son Jack, as well as Craig Wadsworth, a beloved RV driver for NASCAR racers, were also killed. Their Cessna C550 twin-engine private jet crashed at Statesville Regional Airport outside Charlotte.
Federal flight data viewed by local NBC News affiliate WCNC show that Dennis Dutton was authorized to fly such aircraft, but only with a second-in-command on board. Records show that Jack Dutton recently became a certified single-engine pilot.
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Greg Biffle, who used his own helicopter last year to help rescue stranded North Carolinians in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, was reportedly certified to fly a multi-engine aircraft in March. Officials have yet to confirm who was driving the Cessna on Thursday.
“The thought of them being murdered on a birthday trip was such a fun time for the family,” Grossu told People. “And to see the horrific way it ended, it’s just so hard to bear. I can’t believe they’re gone.”
Images shared on social media showed clouds of smoke at the airport in the immediate aftermath of the crash. Heartfelt tributes have since also flooded social media.
“They embraced every aspect of their lives and every moment,” Grossu said Friday. “And it’s such a loss. They touched so many people’s lives. It’s so hard to bear. I can’t believe they’re gone.”
