Reno air races crash: Death toll climbs to 9, including pilot
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The death toll in the Reno air races crash climbed to nine, including the pilot, police officials said Saturday.
At an afternoon briefing, Reno Deputy Police Chief Dave Evans told reporters that two people were reported dead at local hospitals. Seven others, including pilot Jimmy Leeward, died when the P-51 Mustang hit the tarmac, he said.
Evans spoke to reporters in a news conference at the Reno-Stead airport where investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board briefed the media. The NTSB is the lead investigative agency.
Originally, three people were reported killed when a World War II-era plane, piloted by Leeward, fell from the sky, smashed into the ground and sent debris into the stands and boxes at the airfield. More than 50 were reportedly injured.
The airport that held the National Championship Air Races remained closed on Saturday as investigators begin their grim work of assessing the scene and determining the cause of the crash.
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-- Tony Barboza in Reno, Nev.
