Costa Mesa : Memorial Is Planned for Airline Crash Victim
A memorial service has been scheduled Friday at Costa Mesa High School on the birthday of Hidi Ratliff to honor the 16-year-old cheerleader who was killed in the Aug. 16 crash of Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in Detroit.
The victim’s mother, Mary Ann Ratliff of Santa Ana, said members of her daughter’s cheerleading team would speak during the 7 p.m. service. She said that Sept. 4 would have been her daughter’s 17th birthday and that she would have started her senior year at the high school this fall.
She had been returning to California from a visit with her father when the plane crashed after taking off from Detroit. She was buried Aug. 22, alongside her grandfather in Toledo, Ohio, where she born.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to a memorial fund set up for her at the high school, her mother said. The fund will be used to help pay for the school’s athletic department and the cheerleading program.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
