Every parent’s worst nightmare is learning that they’ll have to attend their own child’s funeral.
A close second is getting an ominous message from your child — and the mother of ex-NASCAR driver Greg Biffle’s wife tragically experienced both recently.
As ESPN reported, Biffle and his family died in a horrific plane crash Thursday in North Carolina.
The NASCAR family is devastated at the loss of Greg Biffle, who was one of our 75 greatest drivers and became known for his relentless post-career humanitarian work.
We extend our deepest condolences. pic.twitter.com/Q7nh6ug1iW
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) December 18, 2025
Biffle, 55; his wife, Cristina; their 14-year-old daughter Emma and 5-year-old son Ryder all died in the crash.
(Three others, Dennis Dutton, his son Jack, and Craig Wadsworth, also died in the crash.)
ESPN noted that flight records show that the plane, a Cessna C550, was registered to a company owned by Biffle.
This already somber story, however, took another heart-wrenching twist after People magazine spoke to Cristina’s mother, Cathy.
Just before her death, Cristina had messaged Cathy, writing, “We’re in trouble.”
“She texted me from the plane, and she said, ‘We’re in trouble.’ And that was it,” Cathy, whom People noted was crying, said. “So we’re devastated. We’re brokenhearted.”
Cathy was also able to shed more light on the context of the accident, noting that the group was headed out for a birthday celebration of some sort.
“To think that they would be killed on a birthday trip, that was just such a fun time for the family,” she says. “And to see the horrific way that it ended, it’s just, it is so hard to bear. I cannot believe they’re gone.”
Cathy also talked about her final interaction with her family, as Greg and Cristina were apparently at her house just a day before the tragedy.
“I don’t remember what the last words that I said to my daughter or to Greg or to my precious Ryder,” Cathy said. “I don’t remember. I know we hugged, but I don’t remember those last words, and that’s going to haunt me.
“But they were happy.”
According to ESPN, the Biffles’ plane erupted in flames when it hit the ground.
ESPN reported that the plane “departed Statesville Regional Airport, about 45 miles north of Charlotte, shortly after 10 a.m. Thursday but soon crashed while trying to return and land,” citing the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known.
While Biffle was undoubtedly a talented NASCAR driver (he was selected as one of NASCAR’s top 75 drivers in history), he is perhaps best known for his incredible humanitarian work in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Biffle, piloting his helicopter, helped countless people in need in the aftermath of that 2024 disaster.
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