For the first time, the homeowner whose Akron house was struck by a small plane is speaking out about the moment his family narrowly escaped with their lives.
Colton Laudato said he grabbed both of his children, 5 and 1, and his dog and ran from the home as smoke and flames filled the living room.
The plane crashed into the home along Canterbury Circle at around 3:45 p.m. Thursday. The two people on board were killed. Laudato, his two young children and his dog survived without injuries.
Laudato said he was working from home in the basement when his internet went out. Shortly after, he heard a loud bang and his entire house shook as clouds of dust and smoke overcame him. He said it sounded like a train crashing into the home — he thought it might have been a car or a tree. He never imagined it was a plane.
He initially froze, then ran upstairs to check on his children. He was met with a wall of smoke and flames where the living room wall had been, with the plane engulfed just steps away.
“There’s a ton of black smoke and kind of like flames that are coming through the house at that point. And I just ran upstairs, and I grabbed both, both my oldest and my youngest out of their, out of their crib and out of their bed, and just ran outside with them,” Laudato told Good Morning America.
Laudato said neighbors rushed to help almost immediately. At least three ran over to assist with his children and help him get situated.
Jacob Young and his wife, Jessica Young, were among the neighbors who looked after the kids. The Youngs were stunned by the plane crash and the fire, but also amazed by Laudato’s “dad strength.”
“The speed with which he reacted to get his family out and safe is just incredible, incredibly composed,” Jacob Young said.
Laudato said the timing of the impact played a role in his family’s survival. His wife was not home at the time. One of his children was napping. The plane struck the garage rather than the area of the basement where he was working or the area of the home where his children were.
“The plane going in my garage and hitting my truck instead of, you know, to the right where I was in the basement or higher up where my kids were napping. Those are all the things I’m thankful for. Just to have them safe and it could have been something that was way worse,” Laudato said.
He told News 5 his family’s hearts hurt for the two people who died in the plane crash.
“They’re in our thoughts, in our prayers and… we definitely want to reach out,” Laudato said.
The home is a total loss, and the family’s belongings are almost all gone — including some of his 5-year-old’s sentimental school items.
“She had just finished preschool. She has a whole memory box of all the projects,” Laudato said.
But the family is extremely grateful for the support they’re receiving through GoFundMe and from clothing, food and toy donations.
Laudato said he and his family are staying with relatives as they start over, processing the odds of something like this happening, but grateful they have each other.
“That’s the stuff that when you think about it, you get very emotional because it could have been way worse.”
The Red Cross is assisting the family.