Karenna Groff tragically misplaced her life in a small airplane crash in upstate New York on April 12, 2025. The 24-year-old former MIT soccer star and 2022 NCAA Girl of the Yr was amongst six victims within the crash, which claimed the lives of her complete fast household. Her father, famend neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Groff, her mom, urogynecologist Dr. Pleasure Saini, and her brother, Jared Groff, have been additionally killed, together with Jared’s accomplice, Alexia Couyutas Duarte. The household was touring to the Catskills for a weekend getaway to have a good time a birthday and Passover when the crash occurred.
Now, as family members mourn the devastating loss, many are additionally remembering Karenna. Discover out extra about her beneath.
She Performed Soccer at MIT
Karenna grew up in Massachusetts and attended MIT, the place she performed varsity soccer whereas finding out biomedical engineering.
She Co-Based OpenPPE In the course of the Pandemic
In the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, Karenna co-founded OpenPPE, an initiative geared toward creating improved masks designs for important staff.
She Was Named the 2022 NCAA Girl of the Yr
In 2023, Karenna was honored with the celebrated NCAA Girl of the Yr award, recognizing her distinctive achievements each on and off the sector in the course of the 2022 calendar 12 months.
“Actually, this recognition is a testomony to my MIT ladies’s soccer household and all the steering, help, and friendship they’ve supplied for me over time,” she stated in an interview on the time.
She Was Enrolled in Medical Faculty at NYU
After graduating from MIT, Karenna moved to New York Metropolis and enrolled in medical college at New York College.
“Karenna demonstrated distinctive talent and unwavering ardour in the direction of the care of sufferers and the mission of our establishment,” an NYU spokesperson stated. “We’ll keep in mind her for her heat, her grace, her kindness, her excellent accomplishments, and the pure pleasure she delivered to our neighborhood.”
She Was within the Aircraft With Her Boyfriend
Karenna’s boyfriend, James Santoro, was additionally among the many victims of the crash. A current MIT graduate, James met Karenna throughout their freshman 12 months and the 2 had been collectively ever since.
“Nonetheless couldn’t consider it was true. I nonetheless don’t consider it’s true,” James’ father, John Santoro, instructed Boston 25 Information.
James, a math main from New Jersey and a member of MIT’s lacrosse workforce, moved to Manhattan with Karenna after commencement. He had just lately begun working as an funding affiliate at Silver Level, and the couple had plans to get engaged this summer season.
