Former Santa Monica mayor Rex Minter, 95, was killed after a single-engine aircraft in which he was a passenger crash-landed on the Santa Monica beach on Thursday and flipped over, to the horror of onlookers.
Initial reports had indicated that both passengers were alive; Minter, however, later died from his injuries.
The Santa Monica Daily Press reported:
Minter was a passenger who along with the still unnamed pilot hit the waterline Thursday afternoon after a short flight originating at the Santa Monica Airport.
“At approximately 3:17 this afternoon the Santa Monica Fire Department, Los Angeles County lifeguards and Santa Monica Harbor Patrol responded to a reported aircraft accident in Santa Monica beach at approximately the 1800 block of Ocean Parkway,” said SMFD Chief Danny Alvarez “Upon arrival they located a single-engine Cessna, it was upside down close to the shoreline on the beach.”
…
The plane was initially in the water but was dragged beyond the high tide line by emergency vehicles. Minter and the pilot were taken out of the plane alive and transported to local hospitals. Current Mayor Gleam Davis later announced Minter’s death on [T]witter.
The Los Angeles Times noted Minter’s extensive career of public service: “Minter was elected to the Santa Monica City Council in 1955 and served as mayor from 1963-67. He later served as city attorney for Arcadia, and as a judge for the Los Angeles County Superior Court. He also served in the Marines.”
Flags have been lowered to half-staff in the beachside town.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.