Shoreham airshow spectator named as victim of crash
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Version 0 of 1. A 53-year-old grandfather from East Sussex has been named as one of the victims of the Shoreham airshow crash. Mark Reeves had parked on the outskirts of the town to take photographs of the display when he was caught up in the explosion caused by the Hawker Hunter jet plummeting on to the A27. In a statement released through Sussex police, his family said: “We will remember him as a gentle, loving, incredibly giving family man, husband to Wendy, father to Luke, grandad to three beautiful granddaughters, brother to Denise and loving son of Ann and Kenneth.” They said everyone who met him was touched by “his generosity, caring nature and overwhelmingly genuine, caring nature”. Reeves, from Seaford, is the fifth victim of the crash to be named by family and/or friends. A further two have been named as missing since Saturday’s tragedy. Police believe it is highly likely that 11 people were killed, although the death toll could yet rise. Reeves is the first named victim who was watching the event from the roadside rather than travelling along the A27. His family said Reeves, a keen photographer, often travelled on his beloved Honda motorbike to take pictures at airshows, and this was his first time watching the Shoreham event. They described Reeves as “a sun worshipper and an enthusiastic holidaymaker … He worked as a Cad (computer-aided design technician) in west London and lived life to the full, parachuting and abseiling for cancer charities and also having a go at paragliding and gliding.” They thanked people who had contacted them for their support and asked that they be allowed to grieve in private. Related: Shoreham airshow crash: formal identification of victims begins The other victims who have been named are Worthing United footballers Matthew Grimstone and Jacob Schilt, both 23, Matt Jones, a 24-year-old personal trainer, and Maurice Abrahams, 76, from Brighton, a wedding chauffeur. They were all in traffic on the A27 when killed. Grimstone and Schilt were on their way to a match, Jones was returning home from work and Abrahams was on his way to pick up a bride and groom. Daniele Polito, who was travelling in the same car as Jones when the plane crashed, and motorcyclist Mark Trussler, from Worthing, have both been missing since Saturday, but their respective families have retained hope that they might be alive. None of the victims have been formally identified. West Sussex county council’s senior coroner, Penny Schofield, said on Wednesday that recovery of all the remains from the scene was almost complete and that the formal identification process had begun. Schofield said the identification process would involve a large team of specialists, including forensic scientists, archaeologists, anthropologists, odontologists and pathologists. A CT scanner has been taken to the mortuary to enable a full scan of all the remains. The coroner said she had met the families of those believed to have lost their lives to explain the process. Once identification is complete, inquests will be opened into the deaths. Sussex police have deployed 24 family liaison officers to try to help the families come to terms with what happened. |