Santa Monica City Manager Rod Gould has extended his condolences on behalf of the City to all the families of the victims of Sunday’s tragic aircraft accident at Santa Monica Airport.
The condolences come after the LA County coroner’s office identified three of the four bodies found inside the wreck of the twin-engine Cessna Citation.
Gould said “as a City, we are deeply saddened by the depth of this loss.”
“Mark Benjamin is well known to the City of Santa Monica,” Gould said. “He was a treasured member of our community as a corporate and community leader as well as a generous philanthropist. Under Mark Benjamin’s leadership Morley Builders has been a tremendous partner for the City in constructing major projects benefitting the community and the region such as our beloved Main Library, the Big Blue Bus Maintenance Facility, Parking Structure 6, and the Douglas DC-3 Spirit of Santa Monica Memorial. I extend my condolences to the employees of Morley Builders and feel their loss at this tragic time.”
Gould said Mark gave to the community tirelessly and cared deeply about people.
“He served on the Human Relations Commission,” Gould said. “He supported numerous community organizations including the Ocean Park Community Center, the Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation, the Santa Monica-Malibu schools, the Westside Family Health Center, the Santa Monica History Museum, and the Santa Monica Police Activities League to name a few. Mark will be sorely missed by all he touched and by the Santa Monica community that he served as a corporate leader and humanitarian.”