A Broward school mourns after plane crashes into teacher aide’s SUV and kills her son

David Goodhue
·4 min read

Students and teachers at Hollywood Hills Elementary School are mourning the death of a 4-year-old boy whose mother is a beloved teacher’s aide at the school, according to the head of the Broward Teachers Union.

Taylor Bishop was killed Monday afternoon after a single-engine plane flew nose-first into his mother Megan Bishop’s SUV as she drove down a residential street in Pembroke Pines.

“Taylor was just her little compadre,” Anna Fusco, BTU president, told the Miami Herald Tuesday. “They were two peas in a pod.”

On Monday, Anabel Fernandez, who lives near the crash scene, said the mom was able to get out of the wreckage, but screamed for her baby.

Both Taylor and his mother were taken by Pembroke Pines Fire Department medics to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, where the child died late Monday, fire department spokesman Marcelino Rodriguez said.

“Sadly, the child died from his injuries despite the efforts of Fire Rescue and Hospital staff,” Rodriguez said in a written statement.

Megan Bishop and her son Taylor.
Megan Bishop and her son Taylor.

Broward County Public Schools’ human resources department said Megan Bishop has worked as a paraprofessional at Hollywood Hills since September 2015.

Fusco said Bishop, better known within the school as “Ki Ki,” is cherished by her students, colleagues and fellow union members.

“Every kid in the school is going to be upset that Ki Ki is going to be away for a while,” Fusco said. “She just lit it up.”

Bishop, 35, survived the crash and was released from the hospital Monday night, Fusco said.

Her family released the following statement: “They would like to thank everyone for all of their thoughts and prayers and request that everyone respects their privacy as they try to deal with this unimaginable heartbreak. Thank you, all.”

Parents at Hollywood Hills were heartbroken by the news that Bishop was involved.

“You don’t think that it’s going to be someone that you know,” Sonia Denizard, told Miami Herald news partner CBS4. “I am speechless. I am shocked.”

First responders look through debris from an accident scene after a small plane crashed near the 1300 block of Southwest 72nd Avenue in Pembroke Pines, Florida, on Monday, March 15, 2021. Two people died in the plane crash, and two others were taken to Hollywood’s Memorial Regional Hospital in serious condition, according to city fire-rescue. One of them, a 4-year-old boy, later died.

NTSB, FAA, Pines FD are investigating crash

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the cause of the crash. The Pembroke Pines Fire Department is also investigating the incident.

The wreckage of the plane and the SUV were hauled away Tuesday afternoon.

Peter Knudson, spokesman for the NTSB, said an investigator with the agency arrived at the crash scene Tuesday morning.

Both the pilot and the passenger of the Beechcraft Bonanza airplane died when the plane hit the SUV and caught fire. Investigators have not released their names.

Knudson said there is no evidence the pilot made a distress call from the plane. The plane had just cleared the airport property when it crashed. Knudson said the aircraft clipped some power lines before going down.

The NTSB has not released the purpose of the flight. The investigator is likely to have a preliminary report completed within the next two weeks, which will be posted on the NTSB’s website, Knudson said. The preliminary report will not likely conclude a cause of the crash, he said.

“It just lays out the facts and circumstances,” Knudson said.

First responders look through debris from an accident scene after a small plane crashed near the 1300 block of Southwest 72nd Avenue in Pembroke Pines, Florida on Monday, March 15, 2021. Two people died in the plane crash and two others were taken to Hollywood’s Memorial Regional Hospital in serious condition, according to city fire-rescue. One of those transferred, a 4-year-old boy, later died.

Footage of the fiery crash was captured by a doorbell camera from a house in the neighborhood in the 1300 block of Southwest 72nd Avenue.

The plane had just taken off around 3 p.m. from North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines before it went down. Footage shows it slammed into the SUV.

The wrecked plane then quickly skidded into the grass on the side of the road before exploding. Flames trailed from the wreckage along the road to where the plane made impact.

The Broward County Aviation Department, which owns the airport, released the following statement Tuesday about the crash:

“The Broward County Aviation Department (BCAD) extends its deepest sympathy to the families of the three people who died on Monday, March 15, 2021, as a result of a plane crash in Pembroke Pines near our general aviation facility, North Perry Airport.

“Regrettably, two persons aboard the single-engine aircraft were killed in the accident, as well as a young child traveling in a vehicle that collided with the plane before it crashed.

“We are saddened by this tragic loss of life and offer our sincere condolences during this difficult time.

“BCAD is cooperating fully with all relevant agencies involved in investigating this aircraft accident, including the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board.”

Broward Mayor Steve Geller told reporters Tuesday there have been 14 crashes associated with the airport in the last five years.

“Right now, unless we get another option, closing this airport isn’t an option,” Geller told Channel 4. “It will create more traffic in other places.”

Miami Herald staff writers Carli Teproff and David Neal contributed to this report.