CLEVELAND — A husband and wife from Cleveland were killed in a fiery crash while dropping their son off at college in North Carolina on Friday afternoon, authorities said.
The couple, parents of four children, were both educators at elementary schools within the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.
Troopers responded to the crash on Interstate 85 north and Interstate 40 east around 1:18 p.m., the highway patrol told NBC affiliate WRAL.
Donald Nunney, 55, was driving a Honda Odyssey from Cleveland to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with his wife, 50-year-old Maria Nunney, in the passenger seat and two of their children in the backseat.
Troopers said the minivan went off the road and caught fire in the woods near the highway, hitting several trees before striking a large tree and coming to a stop.
Donald and Maria Nunney both died in the crash, according to WRAL. The children, a 14-year-old girl and a 9-year-old boy, were taken to a hospital. Troopers told WRAL that the girl had more serious injuries than her brother. According to a message shared with the staff of the school where Donald Nunney works and obtained by 3News, both children are stable and expected to recover.
According to WRAL, North Carolina troopers are still investigating the cause of the crash.
Ohio State Board of Education records show Donald Nunney was a language arts teacher at Joseph M. Gallagher School, teaching grades four through six. Maria Nunney was listed as a school counselor at Wilbur Wright PreK-8 School.
“We can confirm that we will have additional counselors and resources on hand to support the student and staff communities at the many impacted schools,” CMSD Communications Officer Jon Benedict said in a statement to 3News. “Out of respect for the family, that’s all we’re prepared to say at this very difficult time, other than to say our heart is with them at this very tragic moment.”
The CMSD school year begins on Monday.
Joseph M. Gallagher School Principal Lennox Thompson wrote the following letter to the school community:
With a heavy heart I regret to inform you that Mr. Don Nunney and his wife passed away yesterday afternoon around 1:30 PM. He and his family got into a single-car accident in North Carolina after dropping off their son Noah to college. We have been informed that 2 of his children were with them – that they were rushed to IC but are stable and will be fine.
Don had been a teacher at Gallagher since 1994, servicing generations and generations of families in the community for almost 30 years, and our heart goes out to his family; his wife was a teacher in the District as well at Wilbur Wright. They both were well know in Cleveland, in their own community and moreover, well respected and will be missed.
There is no one sole way to deal with grief of a lost one. Some want to hold on to love ones and be around others who knew him; some want to be in solitude; some don’t want to discuss it and stick to work that needs to be done as a distraction. Regardless of how you deal with grief, please know that you are not alone – that we have a staff 100+ that feel your loss and are there for you and are there for one another. Losing someone is never easy, so let’s lean on each other in support.
The CEO reached out to us yesterday, and we have their full support with grief counselors and support on Monday. We have a meeting with Humanware tomorrow to formulate a plan of support on Monday for both students and staff, and we will ask that it not only be for Monday – as such an event and passing can hit people at different times and differently.
Lastly, please keep the Nunney family in your prayers. This tragedy has hit home at school but the impact on their family – on their children – that is life altering. We will give more information about Monday and support setup.
The family has set up a GoFundMe to help support the Nunney children. You can donate here.
