>https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article242118886.html#storylink=mainstage_lead
Bill Kirby, who left Auburn mayor’s post over Trump comments, dies in plane crash, family says
BY SAM STANTON AND VINCENT MOLESKI
APRIL 18, 2020 08:27 PM
Dr. Bill Kirby, mayor of Auburn, California.
Dr. Bill Kirby, mayor of Auburn, California. CITY OF AUBURN WEBSITE
Dr. Bill Kirby, the Auburn mayor who stepped down Monday after making social media posts comparing supporters of President Donald Trump to the Ku Klux Klan, was killed Saturday morning in a plane crash near the Auburn Municipal Airport, officials confirmed.
Kirby, a urologist and Auburn city councilman since 2009, was the pilot of the plane that crashed shortly after 11 a.m. A passenger in the plane suffered minor injuries and was transported to a hospital, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
A Facebook post from Sacramento political consultant Jeff Raimundo carried a statement from the Kirby family confirming he was the victim. Photos provided by the Sheriff’s Office show flames in a field with scattered shrapnel near the airport.
“Our family is devastated by this tragic news,” the statement by the family said. “Bill devoted decades of enthusiastic and loving support to his family, his patients and the Auburn community he loved so much. We will miss him immensely but take comfort in knowing he died while flying – one of the other loves of his life.”