Army Sgt. Ommy Irizarry declared on Facebook that he loved his wife hours before dying from a plane accident, according to the New York Daily News.
Irizarry and his wife Rebecca were celebrating their anniversary with his family on Caspersen Beach when a small plane crashed. Irizarry was hit either by the plane or by debris and died. His nine-year-old daughter Oceana was also injured at the event and is currently in critical condition at St. Petersburg hospital.
The plane, a 1972 Piper Cherokee, was on its way to Venice Municipal Airport when it made a distress call. It is not yet known how the plane crashed, other than the caller telling the 911 operator that “he’s not going to make it to the airport. But he’s going to be on the beach.”
The pilot, Karl Kokomoor, and passenger David Theen survived the crash unharmed. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Earlier in the day, Irizarry had posted a love note to his wife Rebecca on Facebook.
“Today, 9 years ago, I tied my life to my beautiful wife, Rebecca Irizarry,” he wrote. “Wow, how fast time has passed! They say time flies when you are having fun. It is true.
“Thank you for being with me through thick and thin. I love you with all my heart, mi Roma. I am very happy and can’t wait to see what the next 100 have in store for us. I love you, Becci.”