Michael Higginbotham

About Michael

Michael, born on September 21, 1981 was the baby of the family. He had an infectious smile and a welcoming personality; a friend to everyone he met and always willing to help in any way he could. Michael loved his job as Senior Compliance Auditor for Medtronic and valued each of his coworkers. Following Michael’s death, the company dedicated a memorial garden in his honor. He was an adamant supporter of his alma mater, The University of Memphis. The day he was killed a local sports talk show paid tribute to his devotion to the Memphis sports teams and the importance of his fandom ship.

“In the short 33 years we had Michael, he definitely left his mark on the world”

- Laurie Higginbotham, Mother of Michael

Crash Description

Michael was killed in a side underride truck crash on November 18th, 2014. A truck driver was making an illegal u-turn on a poorly lit road in Memphis, TN, rendering him nearly invisible to Michael until it was too late for him to avoid the trailer. The trailer then bypassed all the safety features in Michael’s car and fatally entered his passenger space.

Life After the Crash

Michael’s mother, Laurie Higginbotham, says after the crash their family will “never be the same”. With the “hole in their family”, the Higginbothams had to figure out new ways to live life and celebrate holidays without Michael. 

Laurie and her husband, Randy, are committed to ensuring that Michael’s memory lives on. They routinely place flowers on Michael’s grave and frequently find that his friends have left flowers there for him. Michaels friends, now with spouses and children, tell stories to their families about “Uncle Higgy”.

Laurie and her husband have used their grief to fuel advocacy. Laurie is a board member for the Institute for Safer Trucking (IST), advocating for stricter trucking regulations and underride measures present in the infrastructure bill.  She has spent countless hours both in Washington, DC and at home urging lawmakers to make common sense changes to trucking laws that will save lives.