Son of Harold Higgins, a head of custodial operations for the West Des Moines schools who died in 1979, and Marian Coppola Higgins, a cosmetologist who died at age 78 on July 2, 2011 when the car Steve was driving struck a Ford Econoline van with 12 passengers that had stopped due to a flat tire, on Interstate 78 near Lebabon, New Jersey. Steve swerved but could not avoid the van, and his mother - who was in the front passenger seat - suffered fatal injuries. Steve and his oldest brother Michael - who was in the back seat - were also injured, as were two passengers in the van.
