Lifestyle

Man Crashes Plane Into His Own House After Being Arrested For Domestic Violence

by Valerie Williams
Image via YouTube/Fox 13

He didn’t survive the crash

A Utah husband and father crashed a plane into his own house after being arrested for domestic violence. He died in the crash, which happened mere hours after his arrest.

According to NY Daily News, the crash took place just before 3:00 AM after Duane Youd was arrested the night before around 7:30. When the plane hit the house, it created a “significant fireball.”

Youd’s wife and stepson were inside when the plane, a Cessna 525 fixed wing business jet that he had access to but didn’t own, hit the home. Daily Herald reports that neither were injured, but were both left shaken. His teen son, Parker Youd, says “This was a very unexpected thing. None of us saw this coming.”

Around 12:45 am, Youd was escorted to his home by police to retrieve his belongings including his truck. His domestic violence arrest was for matters involving his wife and when released on bail, Youd was told he would need to contact police in order to visit their home. He was not to contact his wife. Police believe the crash was deliberate.

“Absolutely anyone that you talk to that knew him would tell you that he was an amazing man and would do absolutely anything for anyone,”said his 21-year-old daughter Joslyn. “I feel very, very, very, very blessed to be able to call him my father.”

Parker says he believed his step-mother was unfaithful. Joclyn adds, “He stayed with her and tried to make things work because of how much he loved her. But it was only a one-sided relationship and that took a toll on him.”

When his relationship didn’t pan out the way he wanted it to, this man got physically violent with his wife, so violent that he was instructed by the police to not even call her. Why was he let out on bail where he would then be a risk to her and her children? Utah County Sheriff’s Sgt. Spencer Cannon states that Youd’s wife suffered injuries telling The Salt Lake Tribune, “It was not just a slap or a shove. It was an ongoing thing described by witnesses.” According to Deseret News, he had a history of domestic violence.

Only hours later, he drove a plane into the home where his wife and her son from a previous relationship were residing. According to the CDC, over half the killings of American women are related to intimate partner violence. This is what life is like for women and families in domestic violence situations. They’re always in fear and at risk.

Luckily, the rest of the family was safe from the abuser’s final act of violence, but sadly, that’s not always how it goes.