Esh Family Car Crash
On March 26, 2010, nine members of the Esh family — best known as a cappella singers — and two friends were killed when a driver, Kenneth Laymon, lost control of his trailer-tractor due to heavy loaded brake drums, crossed the median, and veered over the northbound lane colliding into their Dodge van on Interstate 65. Only two adopted sons of the Eshes survived, Johnny and Josiah aged 3 and 5. After hitting them, Kenneth, who was alone in his tractor at the time, hit a rock wall and died after it burst into flames.
Accident
At approximately 5:16 a.m.(according to officials) on Thursday, the Esh family were in their 15-seat van holding John and Sadie Esh (64 and 62 respectively), their daughters Rose (40), Anna (33), and Rachel (20) along with her boyfriend Joel Gingrich (22), Leroy (41), his wife Naomi (33) with their 2 month old son Jalen, and another small girl Ashley Kramer. Traveling to a wedding in Iowa after returning from Burkesville where John had preached a sermon, when a tractor trailer registered in Alabama that had lost control collided into them shortly after jumping the grass median. The tractor then swerved into a rock wall, caught on fire, and killed the driver Kenneth Laymon. Because of this he had to be identified by dental records due to how badly he was disfigured from the burning.
The Esh family and their friends were driving along Munfordville and Horse Cave when the accident happened, according to Trooper Swiney, an officer. He narrated:
"The van had gotten as far as a rolling stretch of I-65 between Munfordville and Horse Cave, a lightly populated part of the state about 60 miles from Burkesville, before the accident. The southbound truck that hit the van was loaded with brake drums for tractor-trailers. Although there were steel barrier cables on the highway median, the truck was so heavy that it easily broke through. It collided with the van, then hit a rock wall and caught fire."
He also said the accident was the deadliest two-vehicle highway crash in the state of Kentucky since a case in 1988. When a bus that was carrying a church youth group home from an amusement park was hit by a drunk driver, [...] 27.
Background
The Eshes were Mennonites, well known as an a cappella singing group in their church Marrowbone Christian Brotherhood. They traveled extensively and recorded several CDs of well known hymns. The family owned a vinyl building and were described by others as "a very nice family".
Previously, several years ago, John and Sadie's son, Johnny Jr., died in a snowmobile accident while doing mission work in Ukraine. And before that had their home burned down before Christmas, with community workers and people from their church helping to rebuild their home in less than a month.
Funeral and legacy
About 3,000 people all over the U.S. attended their funeral from surrounding states such as Ohio, Illinois, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania. They had also picked up a following from people in other countries such as Canada and Guatemala due in part to the CDs they would sell. "They traveled a lot and left an impression on people," Judith Stoll from Tennessee said. She was friends with the Eshes daughters whom were asked to sing at the wedding they were traveling to. Many of the men wore beards and dark suits and the women wore long dresses and white bonnets or scarves to pay respect to the Mennonite/Amish community.
Eight wooden coffins were made to stand up across the front, with Naomi Esh's son Jalen being buried in her coffin. The nine were buried in the cemetery at the Marrowbone Christian Brotherhood Church, along with their son Johnny. While Ashley Kramer and Kenneth Laymon' funerals were held at a different location.