Parents of Kentucky high school graduate killed in crash after ceremony

FLEMINGSBURG, Ky. — A day of triumph and achievement quickly turned into tragedy for a Kentucky family Saturday.

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Moments after Dalton Barnett graduated from Fleming County High School in a ceremony, he was a passenger in a crash that killed his parents and injured him and his older brother, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.

Nancy Barnett, 53, and her husband Lyndon Barnett, 56, died in the crash, People magazine reported. Nancy Barnett, who was driving the family car, collided with a pickup truck in Flemingsburg, the Kentucky State Police told The Associated Press. Nancy Barnett died at the scene, and her husband died at an area hospital, the Herald-Leader reported.

Fleming County High School Principal Stephanie Emmons asked for thoughts and prayers for Dalton Barnett. In a letter posted on Facebook, she asked people to “uplift this family.”

“There was a car accident involving (Dalton) and his family shortly after his graduation ceremony,” Emmons wrote. “We have learned that his mother, Nancy Barnett, and his father, Lyndon Barnett, both passed away as a result of the accident.”

Dalton Barnett, 18, and his brother Michael Dalton, 26, were taken to an area hospital, People reported.

The driver of the truck, Anthony Bailey, 52, and his passenger, Nancy Bailey, were not injured, the Herald-Leader reported.

The high school held a 12-hour graduation event Saturday that was closed to the public except for the graduate and up to six family members, the Herald-Leader reported. The first student graduated shortly before 8 a.m. The accident involving the Barnetts occurred around 9:15 a.m., the newspaper reported.

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