Teen Rolls Free of Fiery Detroit Plane Crash That Killed Dad and Stepmother: 'It Was a Miracle'

A 17-year-old is currently in critical condition after escaping a single-engine plane crash that took the lives of his father and stepmother.

The Cessna 210 came down in a Detroit neighborhood on Sunday night at approximately 8 p.m, around the time it was due to land at Detroit City Airport after a flight from Arkansas, according to local outlet WXYZ.

Click2Houston identified the victims as Greg Boaz, 54, and his wife Julie, 48. A restaurant that Greg owned in Texas, the Lone Star Grill, shared a Facebook post mourning the couple’s deaths.

“For those who have not heard, Lone Star Grill owner Greg Boaz and his wife Julie died in a plane crash on Sunday night,” the eatery’s management said in the statement. “Greg’s 17-year-old son is in critical condition in a Detroit area hospital with his mother Jaime by his side. We are honoring Greg’s memory by re-opening the restaurant and continuing business as usual starting tomorrow (Tuesday, June 26), as he would want us to do.”

Bystander Cordell Owens was able to help Greg’s son, who was the third person in the downed plane, by using an axe to create a hole through which he could escape, according to WXYZ.

“The plane crashed and we start running towards it and it was a small plane and the flames were out of control, it started burning and the gentleman in the plane started hollering and screaming, and that was when I went to work,” Owens told WXYZ.

He added to the outlet, “I feel real good about it. I don’t feel like a hero, but it is something that I had to do.”

In video from the incident, the teenager can be seen rolling out of the burning plane and running quickly to safety.

Danny Boaz Sr., Greg’s nephew, told Click2Houston that his cousin is “lucky to be alive.”

“I just thought it was a miracle that he got out,” he said. “I mean he’s got smoke in his lungs, and I think he’s burned a little bit on his back and the back of his hands, think it’s third-degree burns, but he’s lucky to be alive.”

Air safety investigator Andrew Todd Fox said Monday that the pilot, Greg, reported his landing gear was malfunctioning and was attempting to circle back to the airport when he said he was “low on fuel or out of fuel,” according to the Associated Press. However, a conclusive cause for the crash has not been determined.

Both the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash, WXYZ reported.