For the fourth year in a row, Virgin America topped the list of the country's best airlines, according to an annual report that found the industry performed better in 2015, but customer complaints still increased.

The Airline Quality Rating report — released Monday by Wichita State University and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona — is the longest-running airline quality evaluation in the country.

It ranks the nation's 13 domestic airlines as follows:

1. Virgin America (soon to merge with Alaska Airlines)
2. JetBlue
3. Delta Airlines
4. Hawaiian Airlines
5. Alaska Airlines
6. Southwest Airlines
7. SkyWest Airlines
8. United Airlines
9. ExpressJet
10. American Airlines
11. Frontier Airlines
12. Envoy Air
13. Spirit Airlines

The rankings are based on four key categories: on-time performance, involuntary denied boardings, baggage handling and consumer complaints. On the whole, the air travel industry improved in each of the four from 2014 to 2015, the report found.

On-Time Performance

Hawaiian Airlines takes the cake for best on-time performance, while Spirit had the fewest on-time flights in 2015, according to the report.

"We struggled with our on-time performance because we are very aggressive with our schedules," Paul Berry, a spokesperson for Spirit. "We put very little, to no pad in our schedules, to save our customers money on airfare."

Berry said the flight schedule is so full, airport delays create a chain reaction. He added that the airline is working to improve its timeliness.

Collectively, more flights were on time in 2015 than in 2014 — 79.9 percent compared to 76.2 percent, respectively.

Involuntary Denied Boardings

JetBlue and Hawaiian "are the clear industry leaders" in terms of involuntary denied boardings, which means they had the fewest number of passengers who were denied seats on oversold flights. Nine of the airlines evaluated had fewer denied boardings in 2015 than in 2014, with SkyWest showing the most improvement, according to the report.

Baggage Handling

Fewer bags were "lost, damaged, delayed or pilfered" in 2015 than the year before, with eight airlines showing improvement, according to the report. Virgin America was found to have the best baggage handling, with 0.84 "mishandled" bags per 1,000 passengers, while Envoy had the worst, at 8.52 bags per 1,000 people.

"Envoy has been adding a lot of additional resources with regard to baggage, especially transferring bags. That continues to be a priority in 2016 for American," said a spokesperson for American Airlines, which owns and operates Envoy. "But we are already seeing improvement, now that American/US Airways are on one system."

The industry rate of mishandled bags dropped from 3.62 in 2014 to 3.24 in 2015.

Customer Complaints

Despite better performance overall, customer complaints reached their highest level in 15 years, with a 37 percent increase in complaints from 2014 to 2015. Of the 15,260 complaints registered with the Department of Transportation, most were over problems with flights, baggage, tickets and customer service, according to the report.

"These results clearly show that the air traveling public is not happy. Passengers are reaching out and letting us know exactly that, based on the number of complaints filed with the Department of Transportation. The human element of air travel is obviously deteriorating, and passengers are fed up," said co-researcher Brent Bowen, dean of the College of Aviation at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Alaska Airlines had the lowest rate of complaints, while Spirit had the highest. Berry said most of the airline's complaints come from first-time customers who book through third-party sites and "do not receive the same level of information about Spirit’s a la carte model" as those who book directly through the airline.

"We are constantly working to educate these first time customers," Berry said in a statement. "While we’re seeing some improvement, we still have some work to do in the area of customers who book on third party travel sites."

American Airlines said in a statement Monday the company "strives to improve the travel experience for all of [its] customers" and takes direction from customer complaints.

"We have several programs in different phases of development that we believe will greatly improve our customer service," the company said.

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California Highway Patrol officers gave chase to an unlikely suspect early Sunday — a Chihuahua.

A driver reported the dog on westbound Bay Bridge just after 7 a.m., according to Officer Vu Williams, a spokesman for CHP San Francisco. 

CHP units noticed the small dog on the bridge's north side catwalk heading toward San Francisco, prompting an officer to stop traffic.

A motorcycle officer tried to go over to the Chihuahua and pick it up, but it bolted onto the Bay Bridge, Williams said. A video on the CHP San Francisco Twitter page shows a motorcycle officer pursuing the dog as it scampered across multiple lanes.

The black Chihuahua kept running away from officers who were trying to safely capture it so a motorcycle officer and others in a patrol car boxed in the wayward dog, Williams said. One officer distracted the animal with a jacket while another scooped it up. 

The rescue lasted roughly five minutes, according to Williams. 

CHP officers also shared a photograph of the Chihuahua being carried by one of their colleagues. A skull is dangling from the dog's black collar, but Williams said it doesn't contain any identifying information.

The dog has been picked up by the San Francisco County's Department of Animal Care and Control, whose employees nicknamed it "Ponch," after Erik Estrada's character in the 1970s TV hit, "CHiPs." Officials are going to use a scanner to ascertain if it has a microchip in it, Williams said.

Officials are seeking the public's assistance in reuniting the Chihuahua with its owner. If it isn't claimed in seven days, it will be put up for adoption.

This dog isn't the first animal to prompt a brief closure of the Bay Brige. Williams said turtles, seals and a litany of other animals have caused traffic jams in the past. 

Anyone with information is asked to call 415-554-6364.

Crews putting out a house fire in the 4200 block of Darwin Way discovered a large marijuana operation inside the home San Diego police confirmed. 

The house has nothing in it and was being used solely for growing pot. About 100 plants were found in just one back bedroom. 

The call originally came in as a house fire, but after crews forced entry into the home they found plants of different strains and stages of growth in all five rooms of the house. 

The operation is elaborate and sophisticated according to San Diego Fire. 

SDPD is handling the investigation for now, but the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) will likely join them at some point. 

Arson investigators were initially called out, but the fire was determined to be an electrical problem. 

NBC 7 San Diego / KNSD moved Sunday from its downtown location to a new state-of-the-art facility featuring the latest broadcast technologies and numerous energy-efficient elements.

NBC 7, San Diego’s media leader with the largest social following and the largest multiplatform digital audience, employs more than 140 people and offers more than 34 hours of local television programming each week. 

Its broadcast center is now located in a new, 52,000 square foot, two-story building off of Aero Drive just west of Interstate 15. 

“We are proud that NBC 7 has returned to Kearny Mesa, the neighborhood where the station aired its first newscast 50 years ago. The new facility is incredible and we’re excited to be producing our live, local newscasts from one of the most advanced broadcast centers in the country on behalf of our viewers,” said Richard Kelley, President and General Manager of NBC 7 San Diego / KNSD.

The purchase of the new building was announced in June 2014 and groundbreaking was celebrated the following April.

The new building was designed to include a larger news studio and to provide room for the station to grow.

“Thanks to NBCUniversal’s investment, our news teams now have access to the best newsgathering tools to help them deliver the best-in-class news coverage that our viewers deserve and can count on,” Kelley said.

NBC 7’s new home will be among the most advanced broadcast centers in the country, offering the market’s first 4K video wall – a multi-screen wall that is capable of displaying video and images across various types of layouts.

Building such a facility required 117 miles of ethernet and TV cable along with 13.6 miles of electrical cable.

A 200 KW solar rooftop system and parking lot make the facility one of the most environmentally-friendly news centers in the region.

Additional energy-efficient elements of the new facility include:

• A 250 KW natural gas fuel cell that emits low carbon electricity;
• A new, tightly-controlled efficient HVAC system that conserves electricity;
• Air-cooled chillers that are capable of using outside cold air to cool computer equipment;
• LED lighting all throughout the facility, including the news studios;
• Use of natural light in lieu of electric light by incorporating occupancy and sunlight driven lighting, solatubes and skylights and automatic shades that are light-sensor driven;
• A low-flow drip system for sprinklers that contains a smart irrigation controller; and
• Low-flow water devices, drought tolerant plants and ground cover.

San Diegans can see the new facility on NBC 7's newscasts beginning at 4:30 a.m. Monday - Friday.

A cache of 11.5 million leaked documents detail a shadowy network of banks and law firms that help many of the world's most powerful people — politicians, criminals, athletes, magnates, celebrities — hide money in offshore accounts, according to an international coalition of media outlets. 

Among the dozen current and former world leaders named in the documents were the prime ministers of Iceland and Pakistan, the king of Saudi Arabia, and the children of the president of Azerbaijan, according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism. 

The media group published the papers through more than 100 news organizations around the world on Sunday. The data came from a Panama-based law firm, Mossack Fonseca, whose cofounder Ramon Fonseca confirmed the authenticity of the leaked information.

The group said they had tied the movement of $2 billion by associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who countered that he was the victim of a smear campaign. The documents also link shell companies to Xi Jinping, head of China's ruling party, and to the late father of British Prime Minister David Cameron, both self-styled anti-corruption crusaders, the group said.

“She was just a blessing, Toni,” Philip Isbelle told NBC 7. “I can't anymore put into words what she was.”

Toni Isbelle, Philip Isbelle’s niece, was killed sitting in the back seat of a car stopped on the side of Interstate 15 Saturday.

A small plane crash-landed into the car at approximately 9:15 a.m. 

The single-engine, two-seat Lancair IV crashed on I-15 near State Route 76 about 50 miles north of San Diego.

Philip said he was in shock when he found out what happened to his niece.

“Just broken, I'm just going to miss her. She is always right here like my mom,” Philip said pointing to his heart. “Special place right there.”

“I just can't believe this happened, I just cannot believe this happened,” he said.

He got the call from his brother with the devastating news. At first they thought Toni was just injured.

“He thought she was at the hospital, but she was at the morgue,” he explained.

The suffering is so great, Toni’s family can't even look at a photo of the crash.

“The image of that plane hitting the car, I didn't want that to go in my head, so I just folded it up and put it aside. I just don't want to see it," he said.

Now, just to make it to the next minute they’re focused on the memories.

“She loved what she was doing, roller derby. She loved that. I know every time I seen her she had those shorts on and those skates over her shoulder ready to go…My mom loved to skate, my cousin loved to skate and Toni loved to skate. She just was amazing,” Philip added.

Toni was a member of the San Diego Roller Derby. The 'Aftershocks,’ a sister team, posted condolences on their Facebook page Saturday saying:

"We are hit very hard with the passing of Toni "Rockalicious" Isbelle. She was a great part of our family. Condolences to our sister league San Diego Roller Derby. Your big brothers will always be here for you for anything that you need. We love you Rockalicious!"

The San Diego Roller Derby was planning an event Monday to honor Toni.

A GoFundMe page set up for her family has raised more than $10,000. 

Two people were injured Monday when fire  broke out inside an apartment in Rancho Bernardo. 

San Diego Fire-Rescue crews were called after flames were seen coming from the first floor of an apartment complex.

The fire was reported at 7:10 a.m. at 11247 Avenida de los Lobos near the intersection of Camino Del Norte and Bernardo Center Drive, west of Interstate 15.  

One man and one woman were sent to nearby hospitals. One was transported to Palomar Hospital and another was transported to the UC San Diego Regional Burn Center.

Two family pets did not survive the fire.

Investigators will determine the cause of the fire.

The sea lion pup that captured the hearts of thousands on the internet after she was found curled up in a La Jolla restaurant booth will be returned to the wild on Tuesday.

The sickened pup, “Marina,” has been recovering at SeaWorld since she was rescued by park workers in February. She was found at The Marine Room Restaurant after somehow getting into the dining hotspot and making her way into a booth with a scenic view of the beach below.

Tuesday morning, park workers, along with Bernard Guillas -- the chef who first found Marina and has been visiting her at SeaWorld -- will boat out several miles off the coast of San Diego to free Marina.

Park officials say the once emaciated pup is now a healthy weight, gaining more than 25 pounds, has a healed eye and has shown she can forage for food in the wild.

“The SeaWorld veterinarians and rescue team members have been very pleased with her recovery,” a SeaWorld news release said.

When the pup was found, Marine Room executive chef took some photos of the whiskered patron that were liked and shared on Facebook thousands of times.

Authorities have identified a 46-year-old man killed while riding a dirt bike at Pala Raceway Friday as neighbors continue to mourn the loss of a man they say was a loving father and friend. 

Terrence James Cook, 46, of Oceanside, was killed in the Pala Raceway crash that happened on the 12000 block of State Route 76 near Magee Road, the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office (ME) said Sunday. 

The crash happened when a 30-year-old man, who has not been identified, was riding his off-road motorcycle at the Raceway when he lost control, attempting a jump. The man crashed into Cook as he was leaving the track, Pala Raceway said.

Cook was pronounced dead at the scene, California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer Mary Bailey said.

Neighbors tell NBC 7 San Diego that Cook was riding with a neighbor who witnessed the crash.

Cook's friends are shocked by his death. They say he was a hardworking man who would do anything for anyone. Cook leaves behind a wife and a young son; the plate number on his dirt bike represents his son’s birthday.

One close friend who got the call about Cook’s death thought it was an April Fool’s joke. He said once he realized it wasn’t, he was speechless.

As Cook’s wife begins to plan her late husband’s funeral, friends are helping her and her son to get through this difficult time. A GoFundMe account has been set up to help with costs. They also hope to find other ways to help with fundraisers.

The 30-year-old was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, but is expected to survive, authorities said.

Pala Raceway posted a message on Instagram in response to the incident, saying in part:

“This was a 100 percent accident, not because of anyone's riding skill level...We need to pull together as a motocross community for the families and show our love and support for everybody affected.”

It's unclear whether alcohol or drugs were a factor. Cook was wearing a helmet. 

The accident is under investigation. 

 The man shot and killed in Los Angeles by his father for allegedly being gay was convicted of attacking a man in San Diego in 2011, according to court documents.

Shehada Khalil Issa, 69, was charged Friday in the shooting death of his son, Amier Issa, 29, whom he allegedly killed because he was gay, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Amier Issa was shot outside of his family’s home in LA Tuesday. His body was discovered in the front yard. His mother was found dead inside the bathroom, investigators said. Prosecutors said Shehada Issa allegedly threatened to kill his son on prior occasions because of his sexual orientation. An investigation into the mother's death is ongoing, prosecutors said.

Click here to read more about the murder. 

NBC 7 Investigates discovered while living in San Diego, a jury convicted Amier Issa of assault with a deadly weapon in 2011, after he slashed his then-boyfriend's face with a five-inch knife. The attack happened in Hillcrest.

Court records show Amier Issa was at first found mentally incompetent to stand trial but after treatment at a state hospital, doctors declared him sane. Charges were refiled and Amier served more than a year in jail followed by three years probation, according to court documents.

The court documents detail that while serving probation he moved to Los Angeles, to live with his family.

Shehada was charged with one count of willful, deliberate and premeditated murder, officials said. Prosecutors said the felony complaint includes a special allegation that Issa personally and intentionally discharged a shotgun and an allegation that he murdered his son because of his sexual orientation.

The 14-year-old who was shot in the head at close range by Uber driver Jason Dalton is in Kalamazoo, Michigan, is determined to make a dramatic recovery, NBC News reported.

The doctors believed Abigail Kopf was brain dead after the shooting. As they prepared to harvest her organs, her mother felt a jolt. It was Abigail squeezing her hand.

"Every time I see a cemetery or just a funeral home, all I can do is think to myself — I hate to be selfish — but I'm so glad she's not there," her mother, Vicki Kopf, told NBC News. "I'm glad she's got the willpower to hold on how she did and fight like she did."

The bullet struck Abigail in the frontal lobe — a region of the brain that controls everything from motor function and memory to emotion and language. By mid-March, she'd whispered her first words. She'd also had nightmares about a man with a gun.

Grieving family and friends of a young girl who pushed a toddler out of the way of a moving car are getting one wish: a recognition of the young girl's actions. 

 Kiera Larsen died Feb. 22 as she was playing outside her home with friends. A Mercedes parked in a yard slid down the hill toward the group of kids, and Kiera, 10, shoved a 2-year-old out of its path, saving her, officers said.

California Highway Patrol (CHP) officials said the car's shift interrupter/interlock was either broken, disabled or disconnected. That means a key is not needed to have to depress the brake pedal to shift the car from park. The cable running from the brake pedal to the ignition was disconnected.

Authorities are investigating why the two safety features -- that exist to avoid what happened in this case -- were not functional and who may have done it. 

Monday, the California State Assembly recognized the Kiera's heroic actions with a memorial resolution, an act that has been in the works since February. 

The measure began when California State Assemblyman Joel Andersen asked the Assembly to recognize Kiera, calling what happened "absolutely devastating." 

Family and friends told NBC 7 San Diego they are happy the 10-year-old is being honored by the state. 

"Definitely it's great because, you know, just her being remembered like that and recognized because she was -- I mean I didn't know her that much, but from everything that, you know, I saw from her, she was a great little girl," said one Lakeside neighbor.

Her family did not want to speak on camera, but told NBC 7 San Diego they were happy she was being honored. 

Three boys have been arrested after one of them threatened a girl at their Upper East Side school with a loaded gun, officials said.

Police said a 13-year-old boy allegedly menaced a 12-year-old girl at P.S. 169 with the gun, which was later found in another 15-year-old student's locker, inside his jacket pocket.

Another student, a 14-year-old boy, had a box of extra bullets for the gun, according to police. 

Police said it's not clear whether the boy who threatened the girl actually brought the loaded 22 mm gun to school, although the school safety agents' union, Local 237, said earlier the 13-year-old boy smuggled it into school in his hoodie. 

All three boys were taken into custody, police said. Charges are pending. 

A spokeswoman for the Department of Education called the discovery of the gun "deeply alarming." 

"Nothing is more important than the safety of all students and staff and there is zero tolerance for weapons of any kind," said Toya Holness, in an email. "Students and staff are safe and no injuries were sustained. Parents will be notified and we are providing ongoing supports to the school community.”

It's the fourth time in less than a month that a student has been caught bringing a loaded gun into a New York City school. 

Three incidents were reported in March alone: a 14-year-old boy brought a gun into MS 61 in Crown Heights; an 11-year-old boy was caught with a loaded 9 mm handgun at a Queens school; and a student was found with a loaded .38-caliber revolver at York Early College Academy, also in Queens. 

Gregory Floyd, president of Local 237, said school safety agents want more metal detectors in schools. 

"These are non-scanning schools that these guns are being found in, so that negates the argument that we need to get rid of metal detectors. Actually, we need to increase metal detectors," he said. 

Some parent groups and advocates have called for getting rid of the detectors. They say they're now unneeded because of low crime rates, and they condemn them as discriminatory, since they generally sit in schools serving minority neighborhoods. 

The last time a student was fatally shot in a New York City school was a double killing in Brooklyn in 1992. The last shooting was on Jan. 12, 2002, when a 17-year-old boy at Martin Luther King Jr. High School on the Upper West Side shot two teenagers in the back after they teased his girlfriend and pulled a bandana off her head. Both survived. 

Melania Trump defended her husband, Donald Trump, on Monday in Wisconsin and claimed that he isn't sexist, NBC News reported.

Reading from prepared notes, she said, "As you may know by now, when you attack him he will punch back 10 times harder. No matter who you are, a man or a woman, he treats everyone equal."

The lengthy remarks were a first for Trump's wife, who is rarely on the campaign trail, and when she has spoken in the past has kept it brief.

Meanwhile, Trump was on offense regarding delegate allocation and wins. Comparing the delegate fight to a prize fight, Trump pointed to Louisiana as a sign of the unfair nature of the delegate system.

A New Jersey police car came dangerously close to being crushed by a large tree when the tree snapped and fell onto the road amid powerful winds Sunday, dashcam footage from the patrol car shows. 

Boonton Township police said a sergeant was driving a patrol car eastbound on Rockaway Valley Road just before 8 a.m. Sunday when winds brought a large tree down directly in front of the car.

The sergeant was able to steer his car away from the trunk, narrowly avoiding a collision. But footage shows a pickup truck coming from the opposite direction slamming into the tree and briefly going airborne before resting on top of it.

Incredibly, the driver did not suffer any injuries, according to police. The sergeant in the patrol car was also OK. 

Gusts of 60 mph were reported in the tri-state area early Sunday morning, and subsided by the afternoon. But torn-offs roofs, uprooted trees and knocked-down power lines were left in their wake. 

Winds knocked out electric power to as many as 63,000 customers in New Jersey and New York, utility officials said.

A Brooklyn parent says he will sue the city after his 11-year-old son with autism was punched in the head by a school worker in 2014.

Anatoly Veltman Sr. appeared with attorney Sanford Rubenstein on Monday to announce plans to sue for $5 million in damages. The move comes after Veltman and Rubenstein said they saw surveillance video of the brutal punch at a cafeteria table, which took over a year to obtain by court order. 

Veltman is also pushing for a change in the way paraprofessionals who work with special needs children are hired and trained.

Veltman said his son, also named Anatoly, suffered a concussion from the blow during summer school on Aug. 7, 2014. When the father arrived at the emergency room, he saw a "big blue bruise above his eye and it was clear... that he was punched with force," he said.

He was shocked to learn a paraprofessional had allegedly assaulted his son, who has the mental capacity of a 6-year-old.

"I wouldn't believe it. It was an impossibility," said Veltman.

"From the moment that the children are taken off the school bus and put back on the school bus, they are protected by these paraprofessionals one-on-one. That's the type of attention my son needs," he added. 

The boy's own paraprofessional is not the one accused of punching him, but Rubenstein said the woman assigned to work with Anatoly also lied about the incident, saying she didn't see the punch, even though video indicates otherwise. 

The worker, Milton Parker, was arrested and suspended without pay. He was indicted on a felony assault charge, but pleaded guilty last year to misdemeanor assault. Parker attended anger management and served probation, then retired shortly thereafter and is collecting pension, according to Rubenstein. 

The Brooklyn district attorney's office said the boy's parents had agreed to the plea deal. The Department of Education said Parker — who retired in September 2014 while his criminal case was still pending — is not eligible for future employment with the school system. 

In the video, the younger Anatoly is seen reaching up to swing at Parker inside PS 225 in Brighton Beach during summer school, and the man immediately punches the boy in the head.

Parker — who is black — allegedly scolded the boy for spilling ice and throwing a napkin on the floor, to which Anatoly replied, "This table is for whites only," The Daily News reports, citing school records and an interview with Parker. The boy apologized for the comment, then punched the paraprofessional, according to the report. That's when Parker swung back.

"The kid punched me in the eye first and as a reflex, he got hit back," Parker, now 59, told The Daily News. 

"I knew it was on camera," he told the newspaper. "If it was intentional, I would have taken him to another room and beaten the snot out of him."

Rubenstein said of Parker's comments, "How can someone work for the Department of Education with that kind of mentality? Clearly the DOE needs to review their hiring procedures." 

NBC 4 New York was not able to immediately reach Parker for comment Monday. 

The trauma made Anatoly afraid of all school buildings, according to Veltman, who said he feared his son would run away from school if he were forced back. He referred to the case of Avonte Oquendo, a boy with autism boy who ran away from his Queens school and was later found dead. 

Anatoly has doubled up on his medication and is now undergoing homeschooling, but the situation isn't ideal, Veltman said. 

"The education is not the same," he said, adding, "It's bad because school was his institution. They need structure, they need routines, and that was taken away from him."

The father is now pleading for paraprofessionals and other workers to be kind and gentle with children who have special needs.

"To people working with special-needs children, be compassionate. Figure out non-confrontational ways of dealing with them. These children don't think the way we think, their perception is different, their reality is somewhere within them. You've got to understand that and do everything for their safety and hopefully their education," Veltman urged.

Andy Warhol’s first New York City studio is on the market.

The two-story firehouse, at 159 E. 87th St., is being sold by real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield for $9.975 million.

According to DNAinfo.com, Warhol leased the 5,000-square-foot space in 1962 for $150 a month. At the time, the studio was close to where he was living with his mother on Lexington Avenue between East 89th and East 90th streets.

Many of Warhol’s early works, including his famous "Disaster" series, were created in this studio, according to BlouinArtInfo.com, which first reported the real estate listing.

The website reports that Warhol was already looking for possible locations in Midtown for the first iteration of what would become the Factory studios when he moved into the Upper East Side space.

Warhol ended his lease in 1963, according to DNAinfo.com. The studio, originally designed as a firehouse in 1910, is currently owned by art dealer Wildenstein & Co.

Cushman & Wakefield describes the building as “a blank canvas to create boutique condominiums, a mixed-use rental or a luxury townhouse.”

NBC 4 New York has reached out to the Pittsburgh-based Andy Warhol Museum for comment on the significance of the building to the pop artist.

Warhol died in Manhattan on Feb. 22, 1987, following complications from gallbladder surgery. He was 58.

The San Diego roller derby community held a memorial for one of their own Monday night: Antoinette 'Rockalishous' Isbelle, who died Saturday when a small plane crashed into the back of a car.

More than 100 skaters, fans and friends gathered at Skateworld San Diego Monday night to remember Isbelle.

Those closest to her say Isbelle was the heart and soul of San Diego Roller Derby.

On Saturday, the 38-year-old skater was riding in the backseat of  car parked on the side of Interstate 15 north of San Diego when a single-engine, two-seat Lancair IV crashed into the back of it.

Isbelle, who was sitting in the back seat, was crushed to death at impact. Aaron Meccann, 43, the driver, suffered lacerations above his eye. A 45-year-old woman and 36-year-old man, both passengers in the car, were also injured and taken to the hospital, officials said. 

Isbelle was heading to a tournament in Los Angeles with other skaters when the crash occurred. Rowdy Rodbuster, Vanilla Gorilla and Witchy Wife, also in the car, were severely injured in the accident, the SDRD said. 

The pilot, Dennis Hogge, of Jamul, suffered life-threatening injuries and severe head trauma. His passenger, a woman in her 50s, was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. 

On Monday night, her friends and family were welcomed at Skateworld San Diego with open arms. It’s a track where Isbelle and the rest of the Starlettes practiced and competed.

"This was a huge loss because so many people had been touched by her generous heart and spirit. You think Derby you think Toni," said teammate Erin Sheppard.

Brett Stang said it was a privilege to coach Isbelle for seven years.

"She was always at practice and alwayshad a great attitude always with a smile never put herself first," Stang said.

Friend Jennifer Hubbard could not come to terms with how Isbelle died.

"What the hell. Toni taken out by a plane you know why one in a billion chance," Hubbard said.

The family has set up a GoFundMe for Isbelle. 

See photos from the scene of the crash here.

Watch video from moments after the plane crash here (Warning: graphic language). 

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the cause of the crash. Investigators performed an initial inspection of aircraft and engine Saturday, but will do a more thorough inspection at their facility in Arizona. A preliminary report is expected in five to seven days.

 As San Diego's police department keeps losing officers as fast as it can hire new ones, police union leaders are now suggesting a plan to retain or re-hire officers past their retirement dates.

Would that be enough to beef up the "Thin Blue Line"?

Despite an increase in wages and benefits, SDPD's attrition rate is still a major issue.

Retirement and greener pastures at other law enforcement agencies are taking a toll on the department's strength.

The San Diego Police Officers Association thinks a bill working its way through New Mexico's legislature could be a model for what might help the cause here.

The chairwoman of the City Council's Public Safety Committee says she welcomes this kind of brainstorming.

"We need to be bold if we want to get a handle on this problem, because it's serious -- very serious,” Councilwoman Marti Emerald told NBC 7 in an interview Monday. “We're more than 200 officers shy now of what's budgeted. And that makes a huge difference on the streets. Especially when we have a smaller contingent of officers out there and more issues happening."

SDPD'S officer-per-capita ratio is among the lowest of the nation's police departments, and its salaries-and-benefits package hasn't exactly been helpful to recruiting and retention efforts.

In the absence of better financial incentives, SDPOA leaders have been sounding out the New Mexico approach through avenues at City Hall.

They're not necessarily seeking to lure retired officers back to the force -- although they wouldn't entirely rule that out.

"No one that I spoke to specifically mentioned that instance,” says Voice of San Diego reporter Andrew Keatts, who’s received background briefings from those close to preliminary talks. “They were seeming, in the conversations we had, to aim this for the people who were working now, going to retire soon -- when that day comes -- to have an opportunity to say 'Hey, you want to stick around for another year, two years, up to five years'?"

Meantime, mayoral candidate Ed Harris is making a campaign issue of short-staffing in public safety departments, saying it's the mayor's problem to solve.

"So why is the union coming to management and telling them how to manage?" Harris asked, rhetorically, in an interview with NBC 7. "I'm a huge fan of the police officers, and the union does a good job. But there's management, and there's unions. And you need to step forward and manage. That's what leadership is about -- managing the city, strong-mayor form of government. Kevin, start managing."

In response, the mayor's campaign forwarded this statement from SDPOA President Brian Marvel:

"Mayor Faulconer has done more to help recruit and retain police officers than any other elected official. Without his efforts to gain bipartisan and unanimous approval of a new police contract last year, we would be in a much more difficult position. Thanks to Mayor Faulconer's leadership, we are well positioned to resolve our department's staffing crisis."

One big question, in the event the idea comes to pass: Would it be implemented in time to forestall Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman's mandatory retirement in March, 2018 under the so-called "DROP" program?

The web of hidden money and offshore shell companies documented in the Panama Papers reveals an alternate financial universe that links a single law firm with a rogue's gallery of politicians, moguls and criminal, NBC News reports.

The cases have little in common other than the involvement of the law firm, Mossack Fonseca. The connections are sometimes tangential, and the firm insists it did nothing illegal.

Ramon Fonseca, a co-founder of Mossack Fonseca, said the people connected to the companies were not the law firm's clients.

"They are clients of bank intermediaries, that bought one of our incorporated companies, sold it, and those people used it for who knows what," Fonseca told Panamanian television.

But the documents illustrate the breadth of the underground economic network exploited by the extravagantly wealthy.