9/11 Widow Among Victims In Buffalo Crash

The widow of a Buffalo native who lost his life in the September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center is believed to be a victim of the Continental Express flight which crashed and exploded near Buffalo Thursday evening.

Beverly Eckert is the widow of Sean Rooney, a Buffalo native who lost his life in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Eckert was traveling to Buffalo for a weekend celebration of what would have been her husband's 58th birthday.

She also had planned to take part in presentation of a scholarship award at Canisius High School that she established in honor of her late husband. Bourque said that while the family had not yet received official confirmation of her sister's fate, the reality was settling in.

"We know she was on that plane," her sister said, "and now she's with him."

Eckert, Rooney's high school sweetheart, continued to live in their home in Stamford, Conn., after the terrorists' attacks of 2001. As co-chairwoman of Voices of Sept. 11, she pushed for a formal commission to investigate intelligence failures and for a proper memorial to the victims.