LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Two family members who were inside a car that was crushed by a sign in Elizabethtown were released from the hospital, but they're far from okay.
On Thursday afternoon, Lillian Curtis, 72, died after a sign fell onto a car in the parking lot of a Denny's. Lillian, her husband Lloyd and her daughter Mary Graham were all inside a car that was crushed by the sign on Mulberry Street.
Mary Howard, Lillian's granddaughter, called what happened last Thursday "incomprehensible." Crews removing the sign from the scene said it weighed about 2,600 pounds, which is about the weight of a small car.
"I was thinking this morning about how you don't know what you have until it's gone," Howard said. "My mom was just screaming and she was saying a sign fell on the car and crushed it."
Howard's mother, Mary Graham, and grandparents, Lillian Curtis and Lloyd Curtis were stuck in the car for about 40 minutes before emergency responders extricated them.
Lillian was sitting in the back seat when the sign fell onto the car. Lloyd, who had undergone open heart surgery three days before the accident, is now clinging to life.
"It's really uncertain if we're looking at hours, days, possibly weeks at this point," Mary said. "His health has deteriorated pretty quickly."
Howard's mother is physically expected to recover, but is now dealing with the emotional toll.
Lillian Curtis (left) and Lloyd Curtis (right) died after the vehicle they were in was crushed by a falling sign in the parking lot of a Denny's in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023. (Photo provided by Amy Nichols, the Curtis' granddaughter)
Both are now at home in Columbia, Ky.
Police believe intense wind gusts knocked the sign from its base. But the family still has many more questions.
"I definitely think there was some negligence," Mary Hoard said. "The officer said there was a bolt missing.
According to Elizabethtown City Code, signs like the one that fell are required to be built and maintained up to the state's standards. WDRB News has requested city records regarding permits for signs at this location as well as other documents showing maintenance history. City officials have not yet responded to our request.
She is now preparing to honor her grandmother at her funeral later this week.
"There's a million ways that my grandmother could have died and no one would have ever known and I don't believe she would have wanted it any other way because she's got a while nation praying for her family," Mary Howard said.
Mary Howard said Denny's hasn't contacted her family.
The restaurant chain has released a statement about the incident saying "safety is our top priority."
A GoFundMe page has been set up by the family to help cover costs of a memorial service for Lillian Curtis.
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