Personal Injury Law

Missouri Woman Killed When Car Falls of Cliff

By Ryan Bradley, Esq.

Photo by KTVI, St. Louis

An unidentified 35-year-old woman is dead and her two children are injured after their car fell 100 feet from a bluff along Interstate 55.

The Missouri car accident occurred Thursday morning near the Gasconade Street exit.

According to a Post-Dispatch report, witnesses said the woman swerved to miss another car and flew off the bluff. At this particular point along I-55, there is no guardrail, only a fence that was placed around some road equipment. The car passed through the fence and off the bluff, landing upside down on the ground below.

The children, a 12-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl, were transported to an area hospital.

Many details still need to be released to fully understand the circumstances surrounding this tragic accident. An accident reconstruction report is underway to determine how the car left the roadway and whether a guardrail would have prevented this accident. We do not know if there have been similar accidents at this location before.

If it turns out that multiple accidents have occurred that could have been prevented by the installation of a guardrail, the family could bring a wrongful death suit against the state. Wrongful death claims are considered to be cases where a death arises as a result of negligence or an intentional act. Knowledge that this particular stretch of roadway is dangerous, but doing nothing to add safety measures, could be seen as negligence on the part of the Missouri Department of Transportation. In addition, there may be fertile ground for an uninsured motorist claim if the actions of the car the driver swerved to avoid was in any way negligent.

Claims for uninsured motorist and against MoDOT are very complicated and each case must be analyzed on its own set of facts to determine accountability. Frankly, I cannot imagine the state not knowing a 100 drop off existed on the other side of a flimsy fence. I firmly believe a reinforced guardrail should have been installed along the perimeter of the drop off and that it would have prevented this tragedy.

According to a KTVI report, MoDOT declined to comment on why there is no guardrail along I-55 and is waiting to review the accident reconstruction before releasing a statement. Once MoDOT does so, we will post it here as well as commentary. In the meantime, if additional details arise, we will update the blog.

If you or a family member has been injured in Missouri or Illinois as a result of negligence, contact The Bradley Law Firm for a free consultation. We have handled wrongful death cases for over 30 years and we only earn an attorney?s fee if we are successful in your case.

Full post as published by Missouri Accident Lawyer Blog on June 28, 2008 (boomark / email).