68th Victim of Aeromexico Crash Named

An additional victim of the midair collision Aug. 31 between a small private plane and an Aeromexico DC-9 jetliner over Cerritos has been identified, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths to 68, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said Thursday.

The victim was identified as Oscar Pena, 41, of Los Angeles, bringing the number of confirmed deaths among the 58 passengers reported aboard the jetliner to 46, said coroner’s spokesman Bill Gold. Three people aboard the private plane died in the crash, and 15 people are believed to have died on the ground.

“The identification process will continue until all avenues of information-gathering have been exhausted,” Gold said, adding that officials believe 82 people lost their lives in the crash.

The coroner’s office has documented the remains of 14 unidentified victims with photographs, dental X-rays and other identifying data, Gold said. An interdenominational memorial service will be held for those victims at 3:30 p.m. today at Green Hills Memorial Park in the Los Angeles Harbor area.