‘It didn’t make sense’: Family of woman crushed by Denny’s sign try to rationalize her death

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - We now know the name of the woman killed in Elizabethtown yesterday after a sign blows off the top of a Denny’s and crushes a car that happened to be passing underneath.

The incident killed 72-year old Lillian Curtis and put two other people in the hospital.

Curtis was sitting in the back seat of a car waiting to get food with her husband and daughter when the sign fell and left her taking the brunt of the damage.

“It didn’t make sense. Like how do you make sense of that,” Curtis’ granddaughter Mary Howard said.

This granddaughter couldn’t believe a Denny’s sign took her sweet grandmother from her and all she can do is recall the phone call her mom made to her.

“My mom called me and she was screaming and she was saying Mary a sign fell on the car and crushed the car,” Howard said.

Seeing the mangled car and huge sign herself was the only way Howard could make sense of the news.

Now, she remembers the woman of faith she admired so much.

“She walked out those most important scriptures of love God and love people,” Howard said. “And just so many people, especially on social media said we knew your grandmother and we loved your grandmother.”

The recent death of her father and the start of hospice care for her grandfather have prepared Howard for grief. Now, she hopes to help her loved ones deal with.

“You survive, and then you get with a therapist and fall apart,” Howard said. “Then you work on your grief and then you get back up and the next day, you do it all over again. You know and you don’t stop and you don’t give into the grief because you can get stuck in that.”

She remembers the happiness on her grandmother’s face after her first hay-ride and the love she had for her family.

Howard said that all of her grandmother’s best qualities have been instilled in her forever.

“You know, I want people to remember her by just the way her eyes lit up. Her smile and just the way she loved,” Howard said.

WAVE News reached out to Denny’s and they responded with a statement saying:

“Denny’s is aware of the incident that took place at our Elizabethtown location on Thursday. Safety is our top priority, and we are working with the authorities to better understand what led to this situation. Our thoughts are with all of those involved.”

Howard said her family does plan to take legal action.

The family has also started a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for the memorial service and travel for the family.

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