‘Devoted’ Catholic school teacher killed in NKY wrong-way crash

COVINGTON, Ky. (WXIX) - A Villa Hills Catholic school is mourning the loss of a former teacher after Covington police identified her as the driver killed in a wrong-way crash over the weekend.

Martha Arlinghaus, 83, of Villa Hills, was killed Sunday on I-75 North near Kyles Lane after the driver of another car coming from the opposite direction hit her head-on, according to Brian Valenti with the Covington Police Department.

Valenti says that officers arrived at the scene around 7:10 a.m. and closed all of the lanes for several hours.

The driver of the vehicle going the wrong way is in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Valenti explains that the passenger in that vehicle was released from the hospital Sunday.

Police have not stated if alcohol or drugs played a factor in the crash.

Officers are still investigating.

Anyone with information on the crash is asked to contact Detective Gregg Andrews at 859-292-2271 with the Covington Police Department.

Arlinghaus was a longtime Catholic school teacher in Northern Kentucky, according to Villa Madonna Academy, where she was an elementary teacher.

Naashom Marx says she had Arlinghaus as a teacher in the 4th grade, and decades later, she still remembers her late teacher well.

“She did little things like helping make sure that we were able to buy little Christmas gifts for our family, and she would constantly knit,” Marx recalls. “I don’t know what kind of knitting it’s called, but she would make angels or tissue boxes. A lot of us still, we’ve been reflecting on how we have folders that she made us.”

The Villa Hills private school released a statement on her death, saying they are “shocked,” and “deeply saddened.” Read the full statement in the Facebook post below.

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