Air race crash death toll at 11

RENO - When 50-year-old Craig Salerno went missing after attending the Reno air races with friends, his wife didn't need DNA testing to confirm her worst fears.

Her husband, the father of their two young children, had been sitting in the VIP section where a plane landed in an explosive crash Friday afternoon. Salerno's friend was taken to the hospital with critical injuries. There was no way Salerno, an avid racing pilot there to watch the show, had survived.

"The family knew," said Tony Buzbee, a spokesman for the Friendswood, Texas, family. "There is no delicate way to say this: The problem was there was no way to confirm he was dead other than DNA testing."

Medical officials confirmed Salerno's death to his wife Monday night, bringing the death toll up to at least 11 in what has become the nation's deadliest racing disaster.

A spokesman for the medical examiner's office said investigators have been trying to identify body parts since the gruesome accident at the annual National Championship Air Races. All the victims' names had been confirmed by police or family members by late Tuesday.

More than 1,300 people had called a Reno crisis line in the days after the crash, many to report missing race spectators. Officials are trying to track down each missing person but have not released an official count.

"They have an awful lot of legal hurdles that they have to go through before they can announce especially the names (of the dead), but also the number of deceased," said Washoe County spokesman Chris Matthews. "They have to verify that they are in fact looking at a deceased person, as opposed to looking at an arm of a person who is not deceased and is in the hospital."

The newly identified victims were a Kansas woman previously reported missing, a father who took his 12-year-old son to see the racing pilots, a man who loved airplanes, and Salerno.

Relatives of the Kansas woman, 71-year-old Cheryl Elvin of Lenexa, had said she was likely dead because the relatives who had attended the show with her were all taken to area hospitals with critical leg injuries.

James McMichael, 47, of Graham, Wash., was at the show because he "loved planes," said his mother, Darlene McMichael. "That's why most people go to those things."

She said her son was survived by his wife and an extended family.

"Our family has a great faith," she said. "And we feel like things happen for a reason. It doesn't make it easier."

Salerno was a dispatcher for Continental Airlines and a lieutenant for a volunteer fire department, said Buzbee, a Houston lawyer representing the family. Salerno also volunteered with the annual Wings Over Houston air show, where he served as a liaison between the main act and the show.

On Tuesday, an account was established to benefit the family of Gardnerville resident John Craik, and a memorial service is planned for October at Turtle Rock Park. Craik, 45, a longtime contractor, and his family moved from Woodfords to Gardnerville last year.

His wife, Lorraine, said the community has been very supportive.

"People have been here nonstop, bringing flowers and food. It's been truly amazing," she said. "What a wonderful community we live in that people are so supportive. John's customers adored him, he was adored by everybody."

Craik's son Ethan was with him at the crash scene, according to mother Virginia Craik.

Craik was killed instantly when the plane hit, she said.

Alpine County announced that an account has been established at U.S. Bank, 1341 Highway 395, Gardnerville, account No. 153754802939. Alpine County residents may drop off checks made payable to the Craik Benefit Account at Health and Human Services, 75-A Diamond Valley Road, Markleeville.

More than 70 people were treated for injuries, some of them life-threatening, in the unexplained crash that also took the life of 74-year-old stunt pilot James Leeward. His WWII-era fighter plane dived into a crowd during the nation's premier aviation competition. Shrapnel sprayed at the fans, severing limbs and severely injuring many people.

Boeing engineer and longtime pilot Dave Desmon organized a group of people with ties to Washington to attend the show. They were standing near the finish line when the plane crashed 3 feet from them.

"We were trying to figure out which way to run, basically," said Desmon, 51.

Among the dead were Desmon's friends George Hewitt, 60, and Wendy Hewitt, 57, of Fort Mohave, Ariz. Another friend lost an arm and suffered a head injury, and Desmon's girlfriend broke her leg.

The others killed who had previously been identified were Sharon Stewart, 47, of Reno; Greg Morcom, 47, of Marysville, Wash.; Michael Wogan, 22, of Scottsdale, Ariz.; and Regina Bynum, 53, of San Angelo, Texas.

During the annual Reno completion, planes flew wingtip-to-wingtip as low as 50 feet from the ground. Pilots reached speeds of up to 500 mph.

Leeward was the 20th pilot to die at the races since it began 47 years ago, but Friday's crash was the first in which spectators were killed. Some of the injured described being coated in aviation fuel that burned.

Leeward was a veteran air racer from Ocala, Fla., who flew in Hollywood films. He loved speeding, on the ground or in the air, and had recently taken up racing cars.

It was the second year Leeward had competed in the competition with his modified Galloping Ghost Mustang fighter plane. He won several races last year but the gold medal had eluded, Desmon said.

"He wanted to go against the national champion and show that he was the fastest airplane there was," Desmon said. "It was a race we were all really looking forward to."

• Record-Courier editor Kurt Hildebrand contributed to this article. a