January 24, 2020 – Placer County Sheriff’s deputies received a call of a plane crash after 10 a.m. this morning, in the area of Black Oak Golf Course in Auburn. Deputies arrived minutes after the call, and found a mangled non-commercial plane in the yard of a residence near the 13000-block of Dry Creek Road.
Deputies observed fuel leaking from the plane and immediately worked to extract the three people inside. One victim was found deceased at the scene and the second victim was life-flighted to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. The third victim was taken to the hospital for moderate to major injuries. The decedents have been identified as: 80-year old Anthony Lawrence Wright Sr. (father) and Anthony Lawrence Wright Jr. (son), both of Meadow Vista. Wright Jr. was a reserve officer and a full-time records officer with the Rancho Cordova Police Department. Investigators with the National Transportation and Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration will be investigating all other details of the crash, including what type of aircraft was involved, and where it was headed to/coming from.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Wright family tonight and the Rancho Cordova Police Department.
Release from Rancho Cordova Police Department
The Rancho Cordova Police Department (RCPD) is deeply saddened to share the tragic and unexpected loss of a member of our team. Today, RCPD Records Officer and Reserve Deputy Sheriff Tony Wright was killed in a plane crash in Auburn.
Tony was a 23-year veteran of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office and joined our RCPD team in 2008. He was assigned to RCPD’s Traffic Unit and worked in our Service Center supporting our residents with general inquiries, as well as traffic-related requests.
Tony was 55 years old and leaves behind a wife and family.
We are grieving the loss of a beloved member of our team, and our thoughts and prayers are with Tony’s family and friends.