A former contestant on US reality television show The Bachelor has reportedly died in a plane crash.
Friends of Erin Storm, a contestant on season 12 of the show in 2008, said she died in a “light aircraft” accident on Monday.
People reports Storm, 41, was driving the plane and died after it crashed in a California street.
Local police issued a statement confirming the incident and the death of a pilot, saying they found a “small, single-seat aircraft on fire” near Hawthorne Airport. A nearby construction crew who witnessed the crash removed the pilot before emergency services reached the area, the statement said.
“The pilot of the aircraft was treated by LA County Fire personnel and transported by ambulance to [the hospital]. Unfortunately the pilot did not survive. No individuals on the ground were injured as a result of the accident.”
They also added that a police officer responding to the airplane crash was involved in a traffic collision with another vehicle, all of whom were treated in hospital for assessments.
Matt Grant, the British “bachelor” during the season which Storm took part in, paid tribute to her telling Entertainment Tonight he was “massively shocked and devastated for her family and friends”.
“We were lucky to have Erin on season 12. She was genuine, self-assured, beautiful and hilarious.”
Producers of the reality television programme also released a statement to the entertainment site: “Once a member of The Bachelor family, always a member of the Bachelor family. It is a tragedy that Erin is no longer with us, and we would like to extend our sincere condolences to her family and friends.”
