Yahoo Lifestyle Man Whose Wife and Son Died in D.C. Plane Crash Says He Called Her, Not Knowing What Happened: 'She Didn't Pick Up'
Vitali Kay's 11-year-old son Sean and wife Julie are among the 67 victims of the D.C. plane crash
A Delaware man is speaking out after losing both his wife and 11-year-old son in the D.C. plane crash.
Vitali Kay, father to 11-year-old Sean Kay (who also went by Ilya) and husband to Julia Kay, 42, told CBS News Philadelphia that he began to worry on the night of Wednesday, Jan. 29, after his wife didn't answer his call.
"The plane was supposed to land at 9, and I called my wife and she didn't pick up. I thought maybe it was on airplane mode and she forgot to switch it off," he told the station.
According to Kay, he rushed to Reagan National Airport from their home in Delaware. After he arrived, a police officer let him through the barricades right away.
Related: Figure Skaters, Moms and an Engaged Pilot: What We Know About the D.C. Plane Crash Victims So Far
All of Vitali and Julia's four children — from Sean to their 14-year-old daughter and two sons, 10 and 7 — shared a love of ice skating, according to a GoFundMe set up on behalf of the family.
"I had to deliver the news to them, right, and that was the phrase I used, 'Hey, Julia would want you to do this, to skate,' " Kay told CBS News Philadelphia.
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Kay told theWashington Post that each of their four kids were homeschooled so they would have time to focus on skating. Additionally, according to a message on the family's GoFundMe, Julia worked nights as a nurse to "pay for ice time, costumes, travel and coaches."
"[She] was an incredible mother who lived for her children. She spent her days taking them to training, helping them fight for their dreams," read a message on the fundraiser. "She gave everything she had for their future."
GoFundMe
Julia and Sean Kay.PEOPLE previously reported that Sean and Julia were in Wichita so the young skater and his partner Angela Yang could participate in U.S. Figure Skating's National Development Camp.
A video of one of Angela and Sean's final performances is linked on the GoFundMe page.
"Ilya was one of the top ice dancers in the country for his age and dreamed of making it to the Olympic team," read a message on the fundraiser, which noted that the rest of the Kay family has been "left shattered."
The crash took place on Wednesday, Jan. 29, when a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with American Airlines flight 5342 just before 9 p.m. as the plane was preparing to land at Reagan National Airport, outside of Washington, D.C.
The fiery crash sent both aircrafts plummeting into the Potomac River and all 67 passengers on both aircrafts are presumed dead.
Read the original article on People
