ATLANTA — International and national figure skating judge John Millier said he first heard about the deadly collision between an American Airlines jet and a Blackhawk helicopter over Washington, DC over the radio, then he rushed home and watched the coverage on television.
Hours later he said a friend sent him a list of the victims.
“As soon as they said it was a plane coming in out of Wichita, I knew,” Millier said. “The first three people on that list were people I knew very well, so it hit hard.”
Millier told Chanel 2’s Audrey Washington that he was with the group of elite figure skaters in Wichita for the U.S. National Championships.
Those skaters, their parents, and coaches, all boarded the ill-fated American Airlines flight on Wednesday night.
“They were very young kids with so much talent,” Millier said.
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Millier said the figure skating community is heartbroken.
“It’s just a huge loss for the community. We lost our entire world team on a plane crash in 1961. That was devastating,” Millier added.
James L. Walker Jr. is a prominent Atlanta attorney and teaches at Howard University in D.C. He is working to get a lecture hall or a program named after Professor Kiah Duggins, the Harvard-educated, civil rights attorney.
Duggins was set to join the faculty at Howard University. She along with more than 65 people died in the crash.
“I was devastated that she was on it,” Walker said. “She was the future. She clearly was the future of the civil rights division of the school.”
As the NTSB investigation into what caused the crash continues, people are focused on remembering and honoring those whose lives ended so tragically.
“The skating community is so tight and we’re all grieving together,” Millier said.
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