Marine Pilot Who Died in Plane Crash 'Could Light Up A Room'

By Bay City News Service:

A U.S. Marine pilot who died Wednesday when his plane crashed in a field in England was described by his former tennis coach as someone “who could light up a room.” University of San Francisco Director of Tennis Peter Bartlett remembered Taj Sareen as a “nice young man” who was “very respectful,” as he spoke outside of the school’s Memorial Gymnasium at 2335 Golden Gate Ave. Thursday afternoon.

Sareen, 34, whose family has lived in both Castro Valley and Hillsborough, played tennis at the school as an undergrad student between 1999 and 2002, according to Bartlett. Bartlett said he recruited Sareen to play tennis for the school while Sareen was a high school student at Weil Tennis Academy in the city of Ojai, in Southern California.

Sareen graduated from the university in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics, according to a profile on LinkedIn. On Wednesday, around 5:30 a.m. U.K. time, the Third Marine Aircraft Wing F/A-18C Hornet Sareen was piloting crashed about six miles northwest of the air station Royal Air Force Lakenheath, near the town of Lakenheath in England, according to Marine Corps officials.

Sometime before the crash, Sareen arrived in the aircraft from Bahrain. He was headed back to the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in Southern California, along with five other aircrafts, following a six-month deployment, Marine Corps officials said.

“It’s a tragic situation and as a coach, you never want something like that to happen. These are tough things to swallow,” Bartlett said. “He liked to drive fast cars, so him flying fighter jets was suiting.” Bartlett said. “We are very proud he chose service in the Marine Corps.”

Photo via Shutterstock.