A lawsuit settlement was reached after a Denny’s sign fell onto a car and killed two people from Kentucky. According to PEOPLE, this accident happened on January 19, 2023, resulting in the deaths of 77-year-old Lloyd Curtis and his wife, 72-year-old Lillian Curtis.
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Lawsuit Settlement Reached After Denny’s Sign Falls Onto Car And Kills Couple
The couple was in their sedan in a Denny’s restaurant parking lot in Elizabethtown when the sign fell, WDRB reported. Around 1:30 PM that day, the sign fell on the car with three people inside.
Lillian was in the back seat, and according to family members, she suffered a “catastrophic” head wound. She later died at UofL Health Hospital of blunt force injuries, according to the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office.
It took a few more days for Lloyd to die on January 23. Meanwhile, the woman in the driver’s seat was their daughter, Mary Graham. She survived and recovered from her chest injuries, according to the Courier Journal.
After this incident, administrators of the couple’s estates sued Denny’s. They claimed that Denny’s and the parties who constructed the sign were negligent. Crews who removed the sign recorded its weight to be around 2,600 pounds.
According to the police, strong wind gusts broke the sign from its base. Still, the family believes this was a preventable tragedy. Signs similar to that one are required by Elizabethtown City Code to be both built and maintained to the state’s standards.
Unknown Settlement Reached To Give Closure
Two years later, on September 12, Hardin County Circuit Court Judge Larry Ashlock dismissed the case after they reached a settlement. They did not disclose the settlement amount in the public court documents.
Denny’s has since made a statement to PEOPLE concerning the settlement. “Denny’s remains deeply saddened by the sign accident that took place at the Elizabethtown location in 2023,” it read.
“While the terms of the recent settlement are confidential, we hope this agreement brings some measure of closure to the Curtis family.”
Amy Nichols, the couple’s granddaughter, had set up a GoFundMe in 2023 to support their family. “I lost my Grandmother today to due an accident in Elizabethtown KY when a Dennys sigh fell onto her car while in it on their way back from picking my grandfather up from hospital in Louisville due to him having heart surgery 3 days ago,” she wrote.
“My nanny was loved by so many people and this loss has left a hole inside us all.” She ended up raising over $7,000 in the fundraiser meant to help cover the funeral costs.