SPRING BRANCH, Texas – As most people embarked on their usual routines Monday morning, the lives of several families in Comal County are far from normal.
Friends and loved ones are left mourning four members of the Galloway family who died in a plane crash Saturday.
The crash happened next to the parking lot of the Strutty's Feed and Pet Supply along Highway 281 north of Highway 46.
The accident killed the pilot, Scott Galloway, his wife, Heather, and their children Cheyenne, 8, and Clayton, 10.
The family is survived by two older sons.
The Galloways lived in the Spring Branch RV Park roughly 6 miles from the crash site.
Friends loved them dearly and considered them family of their own.
Perhaps what they will miss most is seeing their children play together after school.
"Every day, Monday through Friday, they got off the school bus and they would walk right into the barn and ask Ms. Heidi or Mr. Gary for their daily Popsicle," said Stephanie Chalkey, a former RV park resident and friend of the Galloways.
"It's going to be hard because we're missing two," Heidi Huffman said as she watched the now smaller group of children playing.
Their young friends remember Clayton and Cheyenne as funny, fun-loving and "the ones who always made things happen" amid constant games of hide-and-seek, tag and tether ball.
"I've been remembering playing in the pond with Cheyenne and the fights we had. And how they were stupid and I wish we didn't have them," said her friend Morgan.
"Clayton would have a praying mantis on his shoulder and his name was Franklin," Chalkey laughed. "And I kindly asked him to remove that before he came inside. And it was always waiting for him when he left.
"Cheyenne, she was a teeny, tiny, petite little girl," Chalkey said. "Long, blond hair like Rapunzel."
Now grieving themselves, mothers like Chalkey and Huffman are struggling to find answers.
"My daughter cried all night. All night. And kept asking why," Huffman said. "Heather was a great momma. To my child as well. They were good people."
Heather Galloway was a bus driver for the Comal Independent School District, where Clayton and Cheyenne attended school at Arlon Seay Elementary.
Comal ISD issued a statement Monday saying, "We are deeply saddened over the tragic death of Heather Galloway and her two children Cheyenne and Clayton. Our deepest heartfelt sympathy goes out to the family as they mourn their loss."
Scott Galloway had just recently bought the plane that crashed, according to friends.
The wreckage has now been removed from the crash site as investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board expected to issue a preliminary report within the week.
A full report could take six months to a year to complete.