Just two weeks after Dennis, 52, and Lorraine “Lora” Carver, 53, survived the Las Vegas concert shooting, they were killed in a car accident near their home in Riverside County, California. The couple was trapped inside the vehicle when it caught on fire after slamming into a metal gate.
“On Monday night, me and my sister’s lives changed forever. Our beautiful, amazing, and strong parents were in a tragic and fatal car crash just down the street from my house. Our parents couldn’t have done more for us, they truly did make sure we had anything and everything we could ever want, including love which will last a lifetime,” the couple’s oldest daughter Brooke wrote on Facebook after her parents passed away.
Here is what you need to know:
1. The Carvers Were Killed Less Than a Mile From Their Home
Dennis and Lorraine Carver were less than a mile from their home when their 2010 Mercedes slammed into a metal gate. The accident happened around 10:50 p.m. on October 16. The car went up in flames, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
“Their car careened off the road and struck a cinder block column, ripping off the rear axle and rupturing the gas tank, according to Officer William Strom of the California Highway Patrol, which is overseeing the investigation. The car then spun and went head on into another cinder block column, after which it rolled and burst into flames, Strom said,” according to ABC News. It is unclear what caused the accident.
Firefighters spent nearly an hour battling the blaze, but were unable to rescue Dennis and Lorraine Carver, who had been trapped inside the vehicle. Their bodies were later identified by the coroner.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the couple’s younger daughter, Madison, heard a loud noise and rushed outside to see what it was. When she got close enough to see the accident, she recognized her parents’ car.
2. The Carvers Were at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Vegas on October 1
The Carvers also owned a home in Henderson, Nevada, and spent a lot of time in Las Vegas. They had been in Las Vegas for the Route 91 Harvest Festival on October 1.
When shooting suspect Stephen Paddock began firing off rounds from his hotel room in the Mandalay Bay, Dennis Carver thought he was hearing fireworks. Once he realized what was going on, he shielded his wife’s body with his own, keeping her safe from the flying bullets, according to ABC News.
“We are safe. Prayers for us all,” Lorraine wrote in two separate Facebook posts after the shooting.
“Thank you to everyone that has reached out to me, my parents were both at the Route 91 music festival tonight and were standing directly where shots were being fired. A poor man right next to my dad was shot in the leg, that’s how close they were. They just got home safe to our house in Henderson, thank God. I am praying for those who were hurt by these awful people, and for a city that I love, it will never be the same,” Brooke Carver posted on Facebook the day after the shooting.
More than 50 people were killed and at least 500 were injured when Paddock opened fire from the 32nd floor of the hotel. Police found Paddock in his hotel room, dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
3. Their 2 Daughters Are ‘Thankful’ Their Parents Died So Close to the Las Vegas Massacre
Brooke Carver is a 20-year-old student who is attending Arizona State University. She is majoring in Business Law. Her younger sister, Madison, is 16, and attended Murrieta Valley High School. The girls spoke to the Las Vegas Review-Journal about their parents following their tragic deaths and expressed a sense of gratitude that they are feeling.
The girls say that the Las Vegas massacre made their parents open up in a different way and that they are glad to have gotten to really “live in the moment” with their mom and dad in the weeks that followed the shooting.
“We were so relieved when they got out of the shooting alive. But I also think we’ve been given little pieces of them that we would’ve never gotten if the shooting hadn’t happened right before they died,” Brooke Carver told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Brooke went on to detail that her parents were called on by friends and family in the wake of the shooting. The couple, she said, seemed to have developed a zest for life after surviving the tragedy.
4. The Carvers Got Married in Las Vegas in 2010
Dennis and Lorraine Carver had been together for more than 20 years, but didn’t actually get married until 2010. The couple wanted their two daughters to celebrate in their special day with them, so they waited until their girls were old enough to do just that, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Their family was very important to them and they were always a foursome; it’s something that both Brooke and Madison spoke to the outlet about.
“It’s always been just the four of us. But it never felt lonely because they loved us so much. They were always so happy and full of life,” Brooke Carver told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
On August 9, 2010, the family traveled to Las Vegas. Dennis and Lorraine said their “I do’s” at the Little White Chapel.
5. The Carvers Owned a Plumbing Company
Dennis and Lorraine Carver owned and worked at a plumbing company in California.
According to her Facebook page, Lorraine went to school to become a dental hygienist. She attended Cypress College, located in California.
According to Buildzoom, Dennis J Carver has a C 1 Plumbing & Heating, C21 B Air Conditioning, C21b Air Conditioning, C 1d Plumbing license, according to the Nevada license board.
