Cristina Biffle Texted ‘We’re in Trouble’ Moments Before Fatal Plane Crash, Mother Says

Cristina Grossu Biffle sent a brief distress message to her mother moments before the private plane crash that k,illed her, NASCAR champion Greg Biffle, their children, and three others, her family has confirmed.

Speaking to PEOPLE, Cristina’s mother, Cathy Grossu, said she received a text from her daughter shortly before the crash on Thursday, December 18.

“She texted me from the plane and she said, ‘We’re in trouble,’” Grossu said. “And that was it.”

The crash claimed the lives of seven people: Greg Biffle, 55; Cristina Biffle; their five-year-old son Ryder; Biffle’s 14-year-old daughter Emma, whom he shared with ex-wife Nicole Lunders; Dennis Dutton and his son Jack; and Craig Wadsworth.

According to Grossu, the group had been traveling to Florida for what was meant to be a celebratory birthday trip.

“To think they were going on a birthday trip, something joyful for the family, and to see how it ended, it’s unbearable,” she said. “I cannot believe they’re gone.”
Grossu said she had seen the family just a day before the crash and described them as happy and full of plans.
While she remembers hugging her daughter and grandchildren, she said the details of their final conversation have become difficult to recall.

“I don’t remember the last words I said to my daughter, to Greg, or to my precious Ryder,” she said. “That’s something that will haunt me. But I know they were happy.”
She described her grandson Ryder, step-granddaughter Emma, and son-in-law Greg as people who embraced life fully and were deeply committed to helping others.

“They had so much life ahead of them,” she said. “They touched so many people.”
Grossu also shared one of her final conversations with Cristina, which centered on a charitable effort her daughter was completing before the trip.Family games

Cristina had asked her mother to collect letters she planned to mail to families in need as part of a Santa program she personally funded.

“She said, ‘Mom, can you pick up the last 17 letters? I want them mailed before I get on the plane,’” Grossu recalled.

“She finished them that night. Bringing joy to those families—that was the last thing she did.”
Cristina’s friend Erica Zangwill described her as someone who consistently put others first.
“She had the biggest heart,” said Zangwill, president and CEO of the Carolina Aviators Network. “She loved helping people before herself. She was truly one in a million.”

Authorities initially did not release the identities of the victims following the crash. North Carolina Congressman Richard Hudson later confirmed the deaths of the Biffle family in a public statement.
“I am devastated by the loss of Greg, Cristina, and their children,” Hudson wrote. “Greg was a great NASCAR champion who thrilled millions of fans.

But he was also an extraordinary person who will be remembered for his service to others as much as his fearlessness on the track.”