LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A settlement has been reached more than two years after a married couple was killed when a restaurant sign crashed down on their vehicle in the parking lot of Denny's in Elizabethtown.
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)
It happened Jan. 19, 2023, around 1:30 p.m. at the Denny's on Mulberry Street, just east of Interstate 65.
The sign was mounted high on a pole, when it fell on the car with three people inside, including 72-year-old Lillian Curtis and her husband, 77-year-old Lloyd Curtis. Family members said Lillian Curtis was in the back seat and suffered a "catastrophic" head wound. The Jefferson County Coroner's Office said she died of blunt force injuries at UofL Health Hospital.
Lloyd Curtis died from his injuries a few days later, on Jan. 23. A woman driving the vehicle was treated for chest injuries at the hospital and released. The family was headed home to Columbia, Ky., after Lloyd Curtis was released from UofL Health Jewish Hospital following open heart surgery.
Crews that removed the sign from the scene said it weighed about 2,600 pounds.
Police said intense wind gusts knocked the sign from its base, but the family felt Denny's could have done more to prevent the tragedy and filed a lawsuit in Hardin County. According to Elizabethtown City Code, signs like the one that fell are required to be built and maintained up to the state's standards.
Earlier this week, a Hardin Circuit judge dismissed the suit after the parties reached a settlement. The amount of the settlement was not disclosed.
Previous Coverage:
Fatal Elizabethtown accident raises question: Who makes sure tall signs are safe?
Family waiting for answers after Denny's sign crushes car, kills 72-year-old woman
Second victim dies after Denny's sign crushes car in Elizabethtown
Woman dies, 2 recovering after sign crushes car in parking lot of Denny's in Elizabethtown
Copyright 2025 WDRB Media. All rights reserved.
