Two beloved teachers from Ohio died in a tragic crash while traveling to North Carolina to drop off their oldest son at college, according to authorities and local news reports. Their two younger children were seriously injured but survived the collision.

The crash happened on August 15 as the Nunney family was leaving their hotel to meet their 19-year-old son, Noah, a sophomore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

“When I arrived to the scene, I thought all four were gone,” Noah told PEOPLE. “They wouldn’t let me out of the car, and the way that they sat me down and the look on the officer’s face was truly horrifying.”

Authorities said the family’s vehicle struck several small trees before traveling down an embankment and colliding with a large tree. Maria Nunney, 50, who was in the front passenger seat, died at the scene. Her husband, Donald Nunney, 55, was flown to the hospital but later died, reportedly from a heart attack that triggered the crash.

Their younger children, ages 9 and 15, were seriously injured. Noah said his immediate thought after hearing the devastating news was that he had to care for his siblings. “Since then, that’s been my main priority,” he explained.

His 9-year-old brother sustained multiple broken bones and was placed on a ventilator, but is now “talking nonstop,” Noah said. His 15-year-old sister suffered a brain injury and has begun to walk and communicate again. “Seeing them improve has really helped me improve mentally with the whole situation,” he added. She has not yet been told about their parents’ deaths. “I want to give her time to heal.”

The family had been planning a special day on campus together before heading back to Ohio. Noah recalled that his sister, a fan of “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” had been excited to visit filming locations with him. But the trip never happened.

The loss has rippled through their hometown. Donald and Maria were longtime educators in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. Shari Obrenski, president of the Cleveland Teachers Union, described the devastating impact of their deaths: “They were just incredible teachers, loving and attentive and committed parents. They were active in the community. Their loss has hit everyone so hard that it is unimaginable for their family and their children. So shocking and heartbreaking and just devastating.”

In the midst of grief, the community has rallied around the surviving children. Members of the Morehead-Cain scholarship program, UNC staff, and extended family quickly stepped in to help. A GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $370,000. Organizers praised the couple as “amazing and devoted parents,” adding, “Maria and Donald leave behind a legacy of community, family, and love, all rooted in the devotion they had for their children and their family.”

Noah plans to take the semester off to focus on his siblings, but he is determined to return and eventually complete his degree. “I know that’s what my parents would’ve wanted,” he said.

Reflecting on their last drop-off trip, he shared a memory that will stay with him forever: “It was the first time they saw me as an adult. They saw me, truthfully, as more of a man than just their kid, and I felt like that was something that will always stick with me.”