North Hardin High School community mourns 28-year-old band director, hopes to 'remember her forever'

RADCLIFF, Ky. (WDRB) -- Students, parents and colleagues of Kelsey Dunn spent Wednesday mourning the loss of North Hardin High School's 28-year-old band director, a passionate teacher who "taught people how to pursue their dreams."

Dunn, of Elkton, Kentucky, died in a car crash on the Western Kentucky Parkway in Grayson County, according to Kentucky State Police.

KSP Trooper Scotty Sharp said the crash happened around 2:30 p.m. EST. Dunn was traveling eastbound on the Western Kentucky Parkway near the 116-mile marker during heavy rain when she lost control of her vehicle. Sharp said her car crossed the median and came into the path of a tractor-trailer traveling westbound.

Police said Dunn was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the tractor-trailer was not injured.

Dunn, a 2019 graduate of Murray State University, made an immediate impact on North Hardin after starting there in 2021. Savannah French, a junior trombone player in the band, thought of Dunn as a friend, not as a band director.

"If you were stressed out about something, she would just be like 'Girl, you got it. You can do it,'" French said Wednesday. "I had a lot of family trouble a couple years ago. She was always just there to help me through it."

In a statement provided by district spokesperson John Wright on Tuesday, Hardin County Schools said "generations will feel the impact" of Dunn's time at the school.

"She cultivated and nurtured relationships with students and ensured that their performances and presentations represented North Hardin High School with class, respect and dignity," Wright said. Ms. Dunn was passionate about her students and their well-being," the statement read. "She was more than a teacher; she was a mentor and a friend to all she encountered. Her dedication to North Hardin was immeasurable. She gave so much of herself to her bands and NHHS as a whole."

Asante Scott, a senior saxophone player, said Dunn was his No. 1 role model.

"She taught me how to be a good person and always believed in myself and others," Scott said.

The district's Crisis Response Team, made up of licensed and trained school professionals, was at North Hardin High School on Wednesday for any students or staff who may need support.

"She just taught people how to pursue their dreams, taught people to not settle," Wright said Wednesday. "They know (the band season) is gonna be tough and but they also know it's gonna be special."

And Dunn's legacy will reach far outside of the band room.

"She was always just standing in the hallway talking to everybody," French said Wednesday. "And I just hope that we remember her forever."

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