NEED TO KNOW
A 50-year-old CEO died after a plane careened onto a Texas highway on Tuesday, June 16
Two pilots and three teens, including his son, survived the crash
“Saddened by the untimely passing of my friend, Josh Baer,” wrote Rep. Lloyd Doggett in a tribute
A Texas CEO has been identified as the sole victim who died after a plane crashed onto a highway near Laredo, Texas, on Tuesday, June 16. The survivors included his son and two other teens.
The crash occurred on Tuesday night around 10 p.m. local time, when a Cessna 680A business jet with six people on board, including Joshua Baer, the 50-year-old co-founder and CEO of Capital Factory, crashed just south of Laredo, Texas.
The plane, which departed from San José del Cabo, Mexico, was traveling to Austin when it careened to the ground.
Dashcam footage showed the moment the plane hit a light post before stopping on Loop 20, the Associated Press previously reported. Video taken at the scene appeared to show bystanders racing over to the crash to help, including two people who used a sledgehammer and a shovel to break into the cockpit.
In addition to the three teens, two pilots also survived, according to NBC affiliate KXAN and the AP.
All six people were removed from the plane, including one person who was unconscious, investigator Jose Baeza of the Laredo Police Department (LPD) told reporters at a press conference later that night.
A spokesperson for Baers family confirmed to KXAN that Baer’s son who survived the crash is “okay,” but declined to comment further.
Following the CEO’s death, his community and the local startup economy have been reeling.
“Saddened by the untimely passing of my friend, Josh Baer,” Rep. Lloyd Doggett said in a tribute, according to NBC affiliate KXAN, ABC affiliate KVUE and the AP.
“A great entrepreneur, he was a driving force through Capital Factory in Austin’s tech story,” continued Doggett, “helping make us the dynamic, international city we are today. Concern for wife Amy, their children, and condolences to the extended Capital Factory family.”
Bystanders raced to save the occupants of the plane after it crashed on a Texas highway.
Credit: Zayra Garza via AP
While attending Carnegie Mellon University in 1996, Baer launched his first startup in his dormitory, according to his LinkedIn profile. He formed Capital Factory, along with Bryan Chambers and Gordon Daughtery, as a “startup community that helps entrepreneurs find investors, customers and employees.”
“I help people quit their jobs,” wrote Baer, who described himself as an “Austinpreneur.”
In a moving tribute, Chambers wrote about the death of his “best friend.”
“Texas and the tech community lost a titan,” the president of Capital Factory, which did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment, wrote on LinkedIn. “I’m shocked and heartbroken. Late Tuesday night, I lost a best friend, my greatest mentor, and my business partner in an unimaginable accident.”
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“He was the most passionate founder and entrepreneur I have ever worked with. We pushed each other hard and always burned the candle at both ends,” he continued. “But he taught me more than I could ever teach him, and he helped me more than I could ever help him. For that, I will be forever grateful.”
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is leading the ongoing investigation and had no further updates when contacted by PEOPLE.
Read the original article on People