Teen actor killed in plane crash
POSTED: 8:26 a.m. EDT, September 18, 2006
TOLUCA, Mexico (AP) -- Teenage actor Pablo Santos, who starred in the television series "Greetings from Tucson," died in a small plane crash in central Mexico, a hospital official said Saturday. He was 19.
Santos and six friends were flying from Monterrey to Acapulco on Friday when their Piper Malibu crashed during an emergency landing at the airport in Toluca, some 55 kilometers (35 miles) west of Mexico City, the Mexico State Security Agency said. The plane was owned by Santos' father.
The crash also claimed the life of Santos' friend, 19-year-old Martel Fernandez, who died early Saturday at a hospital.
Five others were hospitalized, said Irma Garcia, a spokeswoman for the Social Security Hospital where Santos was taken.
In an interview with the newspaper El Norte, survivor Diego Marcos said the plane had engine trouble near Toluca and began filling with smoke.
"The motor coughed and then cut out ... and then we went straight down," he said. "Everything was too fast."
After the crash, Marcos said, everyone was "covered in blood" and that Santos and Fernandez weren't moving. He said the plane was only supposed to carry six people, but that he and his friends convinced the pilot to take on an extra passenger.
Officials were investigating the cause of the accident.
Santos starred as the son of a Mexican-American family portrayed in "Greetings from Tucson," which ran on the WB network from 2002 to 2003.
He had appeared in numerous episodes on other television programs, including "Boston Public," "Law & Order" and "American Family," as well as films such as "Sea of Dreams" and "Party Animalz."
Born in Monterrey, Santos moved with his family to Los Angeles when he was 12.
Santos' father was traveling to Toluca to bring his son's body back to Monterrey. Burial plans were not announced.
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