Autopsies will be performed Monday for the four victims of a small plane crash near Crystal Lake, Ill., over the holiday weekend.
Ray Harris, 46, was identified as the plane's pilot, while his daughters Ramie and Shey, 21 and 20, all of Marion, Ind., and Shey's boyfriend Chris Backus, 22, of Eau Claire, Wis., also died in the crash. Harris was, according to an AP report, taking his daughter Ramie back to Wheaton College, where she attended school, when the single-engine Cirrus model plane went down around 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
According to family friends the Chicago Sun-Times spoke with, Harris was an experienced pilot who had routinely flown his daughter back to college along the route. They were puzzled by the crash.
"What makes this tragic is that they are just such a great family and did so much for the community," family friend and neighbor Aaron Vermilion told the Sun-Times. "They were just what you'd expect out of a strong Christian family."
Harris was a well-known businessman in Marion who owned the Ray Harris Chrysler Jeep dealership, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Ramie, a junior psychology major at Wheaton College, will be remembered during a Monday service at the college's chapel beginning at 10:35 a.m., NBC Chicago reports. Ramie was described in a statement by the college as "a responsible, hard-working, and dedicated young woman."
Officials have not yet identified what caused the crash, but the National Transportation Safety Board is currently investigating the incident. A full report could take up to a year to complete. Weather conditions in the area had been rainy and somewhat overcast Saturday.
WATCH a previous news report on the Crystal Lake plane crash:
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