‘TOUCHED COUNTLESS LIVES’

Married Couple in Fiery Small Plane Crash Identified

Authorities have named the two people killed when a TBM 700 crashed on Monday morning.

Authorities have named a husband and wife as the two people killed when a TBM 700 plane crashed in the middle of a busy highway in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, during Monday’s morning rush. Thomas Perkins, 68, and his wife, Agatha, 66—both of Middletown, Rhode Island—were pronounced dead at the scene, before being identified Tuesday by the Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III. In a Facebook tribute, their devastated community described “a beloved couple whose kindness, generosity and spirit touched countless lives.” The single-engine Socata TBM 700 slammed into the Interstate 195 median around 8:15 a.m. and burst into flames, police said, injuring a motorist in a nearby sedan. Thomas—who was a partner in Middletown-based construction firm Kirby Perkins, and had a pilot’s license—and Agatha, a personal trainer and yoga instructor, had departed New Bedford Regional Airport and were headed to Kenosha, Wisconsin, according to the New York Post. The NTSB and Massachusetts State Police are investigating the cause of the crash. Forecasters had warned of rain and low visibility from an approaching nor’easter at the time. The left-most eastbound lane remained closed for hours as crews worked the scene. The motorist’s injuries were described as non-life-threatening by local authorities.