{"id":35243,"date":"2025-08-23T15:36:17","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T15:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=35243"},"modified":"2025-08-23T15:36:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T15:36:17","slug":"son-reveals-cause-of-crash-that-killed-parents-injured-2-siblings-exclusive-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=35243","title":{"rendered":"Son Reveals Cause of Crash That Killed Parents, Injured 2 Siblings (Exclusive)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"article__primary-video-container_1-0\" class=\"comp article__primary-video-container mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-content_1-0\" class=\"comp article-content mntl-block\">\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-page_1-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-page mntl-block structured-content\" data-sc-sticky-offset=\"90\" data-sc-ad-label-height=\"24\" data-sc-ad-track-spacing=\"100\" data-sc-min-track-height=\"250\" data-sc-max-track-height=\"600\" data-sc-breakpoint=\"50em\" data-sc-load-immediate=\"4\" data-sc-content-positions=\"[1, 1250, 1550, 1950, 2350, 2750, 3150, 3550, 3950]\" data-bind-scroll-on-start=\"true\">\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_1-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block people-sc-block-callout mntl-sc-block-universal-callout theme-needtoknow\" data-tracking-id=\"mntl-sc-block-callout\" data-tracking-container=\"true\">\n<div class=\"mntl-sc-block-universal-callout__body\">\n<ul>\n<li>Earlier this month, married teachers David Nunney and Maria Galindo Nunney died during a trip to drop their son Noah off at college in North Carolina<\/li>\n<li>Their eldest son tells PEOPLE he initially feared his younger siblings, who were in the car at the time, had also died \u2014 fortunately, although seriously injured, they both survived<\/li>\n<li>Now, Noah says his focus is on his 9-year-old brother Leo and his 15-year-old sister Lucia, who are both on the road to recovery<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_2-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">A rising sophomore, whose parents and siblings were on a trip to drop him off at college, feared the worst when he arrived at the scene of a fatal <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/married-teachers-killed-crash-while-dropping-son-off-at-college-11793446\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">crash on a North Carolina highway<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_4-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">\u201cWhen I arrived to the scene, I thought all four were gone,\u201d Noah Nunney, 19, tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview. \u201cThey wouldn&#8217;t let me out of the car, and the way that they sat me down and the look on the officer&#8217;s face was truly horrifying.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_6-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">The college student was then told that his mom, Maria Galindo Nunney, 50, had died, and his dad Donald Nunney, 55, had been airlifted to a hospital. His younger siblings Leo, 9, and Lucia, 15, had been transported by ambulance to a different hospital.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_8-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">When Noah got to the hospital, there was little information about his siblings. He later learned that his dad had a heart attack behind the wheel and died within five minutes of arriving at the hospital.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_11-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">\u201cThey didn&#8217;t even have to perform an autopsy because all signs led to a heart attack with my father,\u201d says Noah of the cause of the crash. \u201cHe was driving, had a heart attack and they swerved off the road.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_13-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">After learning that both his parents had died, Noah says he &#8220;realized that I really had to focus on what was important in this situation,&#8221; which is doing &#8220;whatever I can do to make sure that the kids are okay.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_15-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">&#8220;Since then,&#8221; the teen adds, &#8220;that&#8217;s been my main priority.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_17-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block people-sc-block-featuredlink--people-app-promo mntl-block\">\n<div id=\"people-app-promo__left_1-0\" class=\"comp people-app-promo__left mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"people-app-promo__text_1-0\" class=\"comp people-app-promo__text mntl-text-block\"><b>Our new app is here!<\/b> Free, fun and full of exclusives. Scan to download now!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_19-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">On Thursday, Aug. 14, Donald and Maria, who both worked as teachers in Cleveland, drove from Ohio to take Noah to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before the start of the school year.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_21-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">The next day, the family, including their two youngest children, left their hotel to meet Noah on campus. Their other son, Diego, 18, had stayed in Cleveland because of work.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_23-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">The Nunneys wanted to get lunch and spend the day together before heading back home on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_25-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">\u201cMy sister is a big fan of the show <em>The Summer I Turned Pretty<\/em>, and that was filmed on UNC campus,\u201d says Noah, who planned on giving his family a tour of the college and show Lucia locations from the hit show. \u201cBut we didn&#8217;t get to all of that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_27-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">That afternoon,\u00a0Noah checked his sister\u2019s location and saw that they were about 37 minutes away from campus, enough time for the family to arrive around 1:30 p.m., their scheduled meet-up time.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_29-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Noah was waiting in his dorm room with friends when the pick-up time came and went \u2014 and he realized that Lucia\u2019s location hadn\u2019t changed. When he wasn\u2019t able to reach his family by phone, he knew something was wrong.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_31-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Once Noah realized their vehicle hadn&#8217;t moved, he asked a friend to drive him to their location.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_34-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">What Noah didn&#8217;t yet know was that around 1:18 p.m., his family&#8217;s vehicle &#8220;ran off the right side of the roadway &#8230; [and] struck several small trees,&#8221; a spokesperson for the North Carolina State Highway Patrol previously told PEOPLE.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_36-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Their car then traveled down an embankment and collided with a large tree.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_38-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Donald, who was driving the vehicle, and Maria, who was sitting in the passenger seat, were killed, while their two younger children survived and were hospitalized with serious injuries.<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_40-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block people-sc-block-spotlight--mid-circ mntl-sc-block-spotlight--mid-circ mntl-block\">\n<div id=\"midcirc__card-list_1-0\" class=\"comp midcirc__card-list mntl-block\">\n<div id=\"midcirc-card__title_1-0\" class=\"comp midcirc-card__title mntl-text-block\">Mom&#8217;s 8-Year-Old Remains Missing Weeks After Camp Mystic Floods. &#8216;My Daughter Was Stolen From Me&#8217;<\/div>\n<div id=\"midcirc-card__title_2-0\" class=\"comp midcirc-card__title mntl-text-block\">13-Year-Old Boy Went Swimming with a Friend, Then Disappeared Beneath the Water. He Was Found Trapped by Tree<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_42-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Noah later learned that his younger brother broke both arms, both legs and was on a ventilator. While the 9-year-old boy made it through the night, Noah&#8217;s sister had bruising on her brain\u00a0\u2014 and he wasn&#8217;t immediately sure she would make it. Fortunately, by the following afternoon, she was also headed on the path of recovery.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_44-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">\u201cSeeing them improve has really helped me improve mentally with the whole situation,&#8221; says Noah.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_47-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Since the accident, Noah says \u201cthere hasn&#8217;t been a moment where I felt alone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_49-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Within minutes of arriving at the hospital, two staff members from his scholarship program, Morehead-Cain, arrived, along with his roommate. By Friday night, loved ones from both sides of the family had either arrived or were on their way to support Donald and Maria\u2019s children.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_51-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Staff members from the college have also helped organize food, housing and essentials as the children recover.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_53-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"><strong>Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.dotdashmeredith.com\/people-news-inline\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"externalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">PEOPLE&#8217;s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_55-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Leo has now been taken off a ventilator and Noah says his brother &#8220;has not stopped talking since&#8221; and is expected to make a full recovery.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_57-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Meanwhile, Lucia \u2014 who was finally able to see her younger brother yesterday \u2014 is able to stand and have conversations. However, Noah says his sister hasn&#8217;t healed enough yet to learn about her parents&#8217; deaths.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_60-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Even as the siblings recover physically, they\u2019re now grappling with a life-altering chasm in their lives. As Noah grieves his parents, he says it\u2019s helped to see how loved they were by former students and the local community. Says Noah, \u201cAll the friends I grew up with were texting me afterwards saying it felt like their parent had died.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_62-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Donald was a teacher at Joseph M. Gallagher Elementary, while his wife worked at Wilbur Wright Elementary School, a spokesperson for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District confirms to PEOPLE.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_64-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">The Sunday after the crash, on Aug. 17, Lennox Thompson, the principal of Joseph M. Gallagher, sent a heartfelt letter to school members. He wrote, \u201cThey both were well known in Cleveland, in their own community and, moreover, well respected and will be missed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_66-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">While their son, Noah, isn\u2019t sure what the future will look like \u2014 including a long-term plan for his siblings&#8217; care \u2014 he wants to see his younger siblings play sports again. As for himself, he plans on taking a semester off, but will graduate from college. \u201cI know that&#8217;s what my parents would&#8217;ve wanted,\u201d says Noah.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_68-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">For now, he plans on honoring his generous, loving parents who raised their children to \u201cbe the best at everything that we could do.\u201d And he\u2019s holding onto the memory of the day his parents dropped him off to college for his freshman year.<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_70-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">\u201cIt was the first time they saw me as an adult,\u201d he says. \u201cThey saw me, truthfully, as more of a man than just their kid, and I felt like that was something that will always stick with me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_72-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/f\/in-memory-of-donald-and-maria-nunney-support-for-their-kids\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"externalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">GoFundMe<\/a> page created to support the couple\u2019s children has raised more than $270,000, as of Friday, Aug. 22.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Earlier this month, married teachers David Nunney and Maria Galindo Nunney died during a trip to drop their son Noah off at college in North Carolina Their eldest son tells &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35244,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35243"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35243\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35245,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35243\/revisions\/35245"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/35244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}