BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. – The Detroit Skating Club paid tribute to the skaters lost on Flight 5342.
People packed the stands for the Saturday’s event titled Skate for Flight 5342.
Although none of the victims were from Metro Detroit, many local skaters had close ties with the victims of the Jan. 29 crash in D.C.
Juan Carlos Maravilla and his brother Jon grew up skating with several of the victims in Virgina before moving to Detroit. They had just reunited with their old friends at the skating camp and competition in Kansas.
The Maravilla brothers returned home safely, but many of their friends did not.
“A lot of times you can see a number and you can see a statistic, but they all had lives, friends and families,” Jon Maravilla, 20, said. “When you know them it really hits hard.”
The two-hour show Saturday featured dozens of skaters including the Maravilla brothers.
“I just want to skate my heart out to a song that they also held dear to them,” Juan Carlos Maravilla said about his performance.
Shelly Meyer with the Detroit Skating Club helped organize the fundraiser.
“It’s going to be very emotional, but I think it’s very helpful to see the community come together and hopefully we can kind of all wrap our arms around each other and heal together,” Meyer said.
All the proceeds from the event will go to the U.S. Figure Skating Family Support Fund and/or directly to the families of the victims.