CLEVELAND — A small rented airplane crashed and burned shortly after takeoff Monday in suburban Cleveland, killing all four college students aboard on the first day of classes.
A witness said he and others ran toward the plane hoping to help but it exploded as they approached.
The four men killed were students at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, and three of them were members of the varsity wrestling team, school officials said Tuesday.
The wrestlers were identified as 20-year-old Lucas Marcelli of Massillon, Ohio; 18-year-old Abraham Pishevar of Rockville, Maryland; and 18-year-old John Hill of St. Simons, Georgia. The fourth student was the 20-year-old pilot, William Felten of Saginaw, Michigan.
University officials said Felten and Marcelli were second-year students, while Hill and Pishevar were freshmen.
Marcelli graduated from Jackson High School in Massillon and twice qualified for Ohio’s state wrestling tournament.
Monday marked the first day of the fall semester at Case Western Reserve.
