Numerous media reports, social media posts and a former teacher have identified a 2018 West Ranch High graduate as one of six individuals killed in a San Diego plane crash earlier this week.
Kendall Fortner worked for Sound Talent Group, according to a source who spoke to The Signal Thursday on condition of anonymity.
Fortner grew up in the area and attended Rancho Pico Junior High School, according to the friend. She also graduated from West Ranch and then San Diego State University in 2022, before going into the music business with Sound Talent Group, according to a profile from the university.
The source indicated Fortner’s family moved out of the area after she graduated high school.
She graduated SDSU with a degree in business management with a focus on entrepreneurship, according to the online profile. She mentioned finding her passion for music as a high school student, which drove her career choice.
Sound Talent Group did not respond to a phone call Friday and did not have any information posted on its website or social media.
Fortner was one of six victims killed after a small plane crashed around 3:45 a.m. Thursday into a residential San Diego neighborhood. The resulting disaster left eight others on the ground injured. Local media reports from San Diego indicated as many as 10 homes in the surrounding Murphy Canyon military community were damaged by the crash.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation as of Friday.
Officials with the San Diego Medical Examiner said 3 p.m. Friday none of the information circulating online had been confirmed by their office.
Sound Talent CEO Dave Shapiro and another Sound Talent employee Emma Huke are the only two names that have been officially released.
The National Transportation Safety Board and supporting federal agencies are leading the investigation into the early-morning hours crash of a Cessna Citation II into a house on the 3100 block of Salmon Road.
The Federal Aviation Administration so far has only confirmed to local agencies that six passengers were on board.
