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A woman died and her daughter was injured last week in central Kentucky after high winds caused a Denny’s restaurant sign to fall on their car.

News outlets reported that the 1.3-ton sign crushed the car in Elizabethtown, about an hour’s drive south of Louisville. Lillian Curtis, 72, died at the scene after a severe head wound. Her husband, Lloyd Curtis, was hospitalized and her daughter, Mary Graham, was released from the hospital after she was treated for chest injuries, the Curtis’ granddaughter told .

A local police official told a TV news station that he had never seen anything like the accident. The family was on their way home to Columbus after picking up Lloyd Curtis at a hospital following heart surgery. They had pulled off the highway because of the high winds, when the sign was ripped off its moorings atop a pole believed to be as much as 80 feet off the ground.

Denny’s restaurant officials said that safety is a top priority for the company and they are working with local authorities to better understand the cause of the incident.

A crane removed the huge sign, according to .

Photo: File photo of a Denny’s sign similar to the one that fell last week in Kentucky. (Phelan M. Ebenhack via AP)

Topics Auto