A final phone call between two sisters has become a heartbreaking memory after a private Learjet slammed into the ground in Florida, killing a 24-year-old nanny and eight others in a fiery crash.
Moments before boarding a flight bound for the Bahamas on Nov. 1, Ana María Ramírez Cetina called her sister to share her excitement about the trip.
“We did a video call. She showed me the children, she showed me the plane,” her sister, Angie Ramirez Cetina, told The U.S. Sun. “She was very happy.”
“She was truly happy because she had never been to the Bahamas, and even though she was working, she didn’t see it as work. She enjoyed it,” Angie continued.
Trip ends in tragedy
Known affectionately as Anita, the 24-year-old Colombian woman worked as a nanny for Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2, the children of Adam Robinson and his wife, Helen Sharp.
The family was traveling from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when their Learjet 60 slammed in Palm Beach County, Florida, killing the couple, their children, Cetina, two family friends and both pilots, People reports.
Cetina, a biomedical engineer who had moved to the United States from Colombia in search of new opportunities, had grown close to the family and loved caring for the children.
“She loved the job she had. She loved the children very much. She loved the Robinson family dearly,” Angie told The U.S. Sun.
Sister saw the crash on social media
But the excitement of their conversation soon gave way to a devastating discovery.
As footage of the jet nose-diving toward the ground near a mobile home park spread across social media, Angie came across the horrifying video and checked the aircraft’s flight path, fearing the worst.
“I saw the accident, I saw the flight path, and truthfully, I didn’t want to accept that it might be my sister on the plane,” said Angie, who first saw footage of the fiery crash online.
“But later, my mom called me and confirmed to me that yes, it was the flight that Ana Maria was on,” she recalled. “My sister and I shared so many things. We have so many memories.”
‘She and I were inseparable’
Among those memories was the unwavering support Cetina provided throughout Angie’s pregnancy and after her son’s birth.
“She was there through my whole journey with my son, from the beginning until the day I had him, through my postpartum recovery. She was right there,” Angie said. “She adored my son. He was practically the apple of her eye. She and I were inseparable.”
Family launches heartbreaking appeal
Now, Cetina’s mother, Angelica, and sister Angie have launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover funeral costs, travel, visa processing and other expenses following her death.
“No donation can bring Ana María back. But together we can show her family that her life left a lasting impact, that her kindness lives on in our memories, and that they don’t have to face this pain alone.”
Our hearts go out to Ana María’s family and everyone grieving this devastating tragedy. Please share your condolences in the comments, and share this story so others can join us in remembering the nine lives lost.
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