Son Reveals What Caused Crash That Killed His Parents and Injured 2 Younger Siblings on College Drop-Off Trip (Exclusive)

A rising sophomore, whose parents and siblings were connected a travel to driblet him disconnected astatine college, feared nan worst erstwhile he arrived astatine nan segment of a fatal crash connected a North Carolina highway.

“When I arrived to nan scene, I thought each 4 were gone,” Noah Nunney, 19, tells PEOPLE successful an exclusive interview. “They wouldn't fto maine retired of nan car, and nan measurement that they sat maine down and nan look connected nan officer's look was genuinely horrifying.”

The assemblage student was past told that his mom, Maria Galindo Nunney, 50, had died, and his dada Donald Nunney, 55, had been airlifted to a hospital. His younger siblings Leo, 9, and Lucia, 15, had been transported by ambulance to a different hospital.

When Noah sewage to nan hospital, location was small accusation astir his siblings. He later learned that his dada had a bosom onslaught down nan instrumentality and died wrong 5 minutes of arriving astatine nan hospital. 

“They didn't moreover person to execute an autopsy because each signs led to a bosom onslaught pinch my father,” says Noah of nan origin of nan crash. “He was driving, had a bosom onslaught and they swerved disconnected nan road."

After learning that some his parents had died, Noah says he "realized that I really had to attraction connected what was important successful this situation," which is doing "whatever I tin do to make judge that nan kids are okay."

"Since then," nan teen adds, "that's been my main priority.”

On Thursday, Aug. 14, Donald and Maria, who some worked arsenic teachers successful Cleveland, drove from Ohio to return Noah to nan University of North Carolina astatine Chapel Hill earlier nan commencement of nan schoolhouse year.

The adjacent day, nan family, including their 2 youngest children, near their edifice to meet Noah connected campus. Their different son, Diego, 18, had stayed successful Cleveland because of work.

The Nunneys wanted to get luncheon and walk nan time together earlier heading backmost location connected Saturday.

“My sister is simply a large instrumentality of nan show The Summer I Turned Pretty, and that was filmed connected UNC campus,” says Noah, who planned connected giving his family a circuit of nan assemblage and show Lucia locations from nan deed show. “But we didn't get to each of that.” 

That afternoon, Noah checked his sister’s location and saw that they were astir 37 minutes distant from campus, capable clip for nan family to get astir 1:30 p.m., their scheduled meet-up time.

Noah was waiting successful his dorm room pinch friends erstwhile nan pick-up clip came and went — and he realized that Lucia’s location hadn’t changed. When he wasn’t capable to scope his family by phone, he knew thing was wrong. 

Once Noah realized their conveyance hadn't moved, he asked a friend to thrust him to their location.

What Noah didn't yet cognize was that astir 1:18 p.m., his family's conveyance "ran disconnected nan correct broadside of nan roadway ... [and] struck respective mini trees," a spokesperson for nan North Carolina State Highway Patrol antecedently told PEOPLE.

Their car past traveled down an embankment and collided pinch a ample tree.

Donald, who was driving nan vehicle, and Maria, who was sitting successful nan rider seat, were killed, while their 2 younger children survived and were hospitalized pinch superior injuries.

Noah later learned that his younger relative collapsed some arms, some legs and was connected a ventilator. While nan 9-year-old boy made it done nan night, Noah's sister had bruising connected her brain — and he wasn't instantly judge she would make it. Fortunately, by nan pursuing afternoon, she was besides headed connected nan way of recovery.

“Seeing them amended has really helped maine amended mentally pinch nan full situation," says Noah.

Since nan accident, Noah says “there hasn't been a infinitesimal wherever I felt alone.”

Within minutes of arriving astatine nan hospital, 2 unit members from his danasiwa program, Morehead-Cain, arrived, on pinch his roommate. By Friday night, loved ones from some sides of nan family had either arrived aliases were connected their measurement to support Donald and Maria’s children.

Staff members from nan assemblage person besides helped shape food, lodging and essentials arsenic nan children recover.

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Leo has now been taken disconnected a ventilator and Noah says his relative "has not stopped talking since" and is expected to make a afloat recovery.

Meanwhile, Lucia — who was yet capable to spot her younger relative yesterday — is capable to guidelines and person conversations. However, Noah says his sister hasn't healed capable yet to study astir her parents' deaths.

Even arsenic nan siblings retrieve physically, they’re now grappling pinch a life-altering chasm successful their lives. As Noah grieves his parents, he says it’s helped to spot really loved they were by erstwhile students and nan section community. Says Noah, “All nan friends I grew up pinch were texting maine afterwards saying it felt for illustration their genitor had died.”

Donald was a coach astatine Joseph M. Gallagher Elementary, while his woman worked astatine Wilbur Wright Elementary School, a spokesperson for nan Cleveland Metropolitan School District confirms to PEOPLE. 

The Sunday aft nan crash, connected Aug. 17, Lennox Thompson, nan main of Joseph M. Gallagher, sent a heartfelt missive to schoolhouse members. He wrote, “They some were good known successful Cleveland, successful their ain organization and, moreover, good respected and will beryllium missed.”

While their son, Noah, isn’t judge what nan early will look for illustration — including a semipermanent scheme for his siblings' attraction — he wants to spot his younger siblings play sports again. As for himself, he plans connected taking a semester off, but will postgraduate from college. “I cognize that's what my parents would've wanted,” says Noah.

For now, he plans connected honoring his generous, loving parents who raised their children to “be nan champion astatine everything that we could do.” And he’s holding onto nan representation of nan time his parents dropped him disconnected to assemblage for his freshman year. 

“It was nan first clip they saw maine arsenic an adult,” he says. “They saw me, truthfully, arsenic much of a man than conscionable their kid, and I felt for illustration that was thing that will ever instrumentality pinch me.”

A GoFundMe page created to support nan couple’s children has raised much than $270,000, arsenic of Friday, Aug. 22.