Seven people, including Christian diet personality Gwen Lara and her actor husband Joe Lara, were killed when their Citation 501 crashed into a lake east of Nashville Saturday morning. Authorities said today that all on board were presumed dead and that human remains had been found.
The jet had taken off from Smyrna Airport en route to Palm Beach, Florida. Shortly after takeoff, it crashed in Percy Priest Lake, a large man-made lake just east of the Nashville suburbs and near Interstate 40. Although a line of thunderstorms had swept through the area early Saturday, it’s not known if weather was a factor. Smyrna-Rutherford County Airport is south and west of the lake and east of Nashville.
The victims were identified in a press release issued Saturday night by Rutherford County as William J. Lara, Gwen S. Lara, Jennifer J. Martin, David L. Martin, Jessica Walters, Jonathan Walters and Brandon Hannah. Gwen Lara founded the Remnant Fellowship Church and Weigh Down Ministries. The latter was devoted to helping people troubled by eating disorders.
