--- description: Her son died last weekend in a car crash after his senior prom title: Mom Attends High School Graduation in Late Son's Place image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Education](/tag/education/) ## Education Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Mom Attends High School Graduation in Late Son's Place by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 22, 2015 1:59 AM CUT by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 22, 2015 1:59 AM CUT A mother mourning the loss of her son [took his place](http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/Mom-Dons-Late-Sons-Cap-and-Gown-at-Graduation-After-Fatal-Prom-Crash-304536681.html?%5Fosource=SocialFlowTwt%5FDCBrand "undefined") at the high school graduation ceremony on Wednesday that he was supposed to attend. Katherine Jackson’s son, 18-year-old Aaron Dunigan, died in a weekend car crash in suburban Chicago after his senior prom, NBC Washington reports. Dunigan was the passenger in a vehicle that crossed over a median and collided with another car; the driver of the car Dunigan rode in was charged with DUI causing death, as well as reckless homicide with a motor vehicle. On Wednesday, Jackson took her son’s spot among the graduates of Thornton Fractional North High School and walked the stage to receive his diploma. “\[My son\] knows his mom never walked the stage,” she said. “I’m going to be his legs and he’s going to be my wings and we’re going to go up there and get our diploma.” Dunigan, a quarterback, was set to play football at Southern Illinois University in the fall. \[[_NBC Washington_](http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/Mom-Dons-Late-Sons-Cap-and-Gown-at-Graduation-After-Fatal-Prom-Crash-304536681.html?%5Fosource=SocialFlowTwt%5FDCBrand "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3893523/mom-son-crash-high-school-graduation/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3893523/mom-son-crash-high-school-graduation/"},"headline":"Mom Attends High School Graduation in Late Son's Place","datePublished":"2015-05-22T01:59:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:33:21.200Z","description":"A Chicago area woman sat among students at Thornton Fractional North High School's graduation in honor of her son who died in a car crash","url":"https://time.com/3893523/mom-son-crash-high-school-graduation/","keywords":["Education","Crime","NBC","chicago","justice","Commencement","graduation"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/education/","name":"Education"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3893523/mom-son-crash-high-school-graduation/","name":"Mom Attends High School Graduation in Late Son's Place"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Best Graduation Advice from Commencement Speeches","description":"The best words of wisdom from this year's commencement speeches","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ILvXQw25/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-05-21T18:32:26.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ILvXQw25.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3893523/mom-son-crash-high-school-graduation/","duration":"PT2M32S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3893523/mom-son-crash-high-school-graduation/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```