Sum 41’s agent Dave Shapiro among the dead in San Diego private jet crash
Katie Boyden and Jessica Kwong
The agent for the rock band Sum 41 and a drummer were killed after a private jet crashed into a neighbourhood in California.
Dave Shapiro, who also represented Story of the Year and Pierce the Veil, and Daniel Williams, the former drummer of metal band The Devil Wears Prada, died yesterday in the crash.
The Cessna 550 aircraft veered into a street in San Diego and crashed at around 3.45am local time (10.45am GMT).
Sound Talent Group confirmed that three of its employees had died in the crash in San Diego, but only named 42-year-old Dave.
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‘We are devastated by the loss of our co-founder, colleagues and friends,’ the agency said in a statement.
‘Our hearts go out to their families and to everyone impacted by today’s tragedy.’
Music executive Dave Shapiro poses for a portrait on Dec. 3, 2024, in Nashville. (Stephanie Siau/Sound Talent Group via AP)
Dave Shapiro died in the plane crash (Picture: AP)
Dave is listed as the owner of the plane and has a pilot’s license, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
His LinkedIn profile also showed he owns a flight school called Velocity Aviation.
The Devil Wears Prada shared a picture of Daniel Williams on their Instagram page, with a caption reading: ‘No words. We owe you everything. Love you forever.’
Daniel left the band in 2016, about 11 years after it was founded.
Daniel Williams, formerly of hugely-popular Christian metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada
Daniel Williams had been a member of The Devil Wears Prada for 11 years (Picture: Daniel Williams/Instagram)
San Diego authorities earlier said two people were killed and eight others injured as the aircraft crashed into US Navy-owned housing during foggy weather.
About 10 buildings are damaged and approximately 100 residents have been evacuated from the Murphy Canyon neighbourhood, the San Diego Police Department stated in an update on X shortly before 11am local time (6pm GMT).
All of the confirmed fatalities involved people on board the aircraft, and the FAA said there were six people on board.
Vehicles are damaged as authorities work the scene where a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, setting several homes on fire and forcing evacuations along several blocks early Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Several cars were damaged in the crash and caught alight (Picture: AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Pictures shared on social media show a huge fire in the middle of a residential street.
‘When it hit the street, as the jet fuel went down, it took out every single car that was on both sides of the street,’ said San Diego Assistant Fire Department Chief Dan Eddy.
‘You can see that every single car was burning down both sides of the street.’
Authorities work the scene where a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, setting several homes on fire and forcing evacuations along several blocks early Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
The plane crash has left a trail of destruction (Picture: AP/Gregory Bull)
The local police department said in a statement on Instagram: ‘We’re responding to a plane crash in the area of Sculpin Street and Santo Road.
‘Please avoid the area to allow emergency crews to work safely.’
Chief Eddy told reporters at the scene 15 homes have been damaged by the crash.
Firefighters searched several homes across four blocks to ensure all residents were evacuated after a wide area was doused in jet fuel.
Taussig Street reopened just before 3.45pm local time, while parts of Yorktown, Sample, Salmon and Santo roads remained closed.
METRO GRAPHICS San Diego plane crash locator map (Picture: datawrapper/metro.co.uk)
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed the plane, a Cessna 550, crashed near the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport. (Picture: datawrapper/metro.co.uk)
Chief Eddy added that at the time of the crash, there was ‘very dense fog’ and you could ‘barely see in front of you’.
There have been a number of fatal plane crashes in the US so far this year, raising concerns about aviation safety.
On January 29, an American Airlines jet and a US Army helicopter collided in the air over Washington DC. Two days later, a medical jet carrying six people including a sick child nosedived into a residential street in Philadelphia.
More recently a private jet flying from New York crashed in Mexico, and four people died after a plane struck power lines and crashed into a road in Illinois.
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