Testimonials
Many of us have had accidents and lost loved ones on these roads. You are not alone.
Please tell the community how the dangerous roads in the Defiance / New Melle area have affected you, your friends and your family.
You may post your testimonial on facebook or email shouldersforsafety@yahoo.com.
Erin Key
As a resident of Defiance, everyone knows that one
mistake
on those roads can end up bad. Living in Callaway Valley, the road down
highway F to New Melle can be very dangerous with any distractions.
Including the variable of trucks and cars going down the narrow roads
also. However, the winter can be the worst. One winter a few years ago,
my mother was driving our jeep down those icy roads on her way to work.
As anyone knows, there aren't any shoulders on that road, just very
deep ditches. As her truck started to hydro plane sideway she turned
the
wheel to avoid going horizontal. Eventually the truck spun onto the
side of the road, halfway on the pavement, the other half leaning into
a ditch. Scared for her life, she was afraid to move because any
movement could send the vehicle front first into the ditch. Thankfully,
other residents of Callaway Valley came to her help, saving her and the
vehicle. If we would only have shoulders on these dangerous roads, many
accidents can be prevented, and lives saved.
Randy Frump
My
name is Randy Frump - I live in Ridgefield Farms Subdivision in
Defiance. I have the unfortunate distinction of being the first parent
to lose a child to these roads in 2009. On New Year's Day, my 26 year
old son Bryan was killed in a single vehicle accident on Highway D near
Busch Wildlife. Unfortunately,...
I am not the only parent to have lost a child on these roads this year.
This cannot continue! My goal is to do whatever necessary to spare just
one more parent the unimaginable pain and agony that I have
experienced. I am so thrilled that these caring and thoughtful
neighbors and friends have taken on this cause and provided the needed
organization and direction to help make a difference. I have pledged my
total support, and I hope we are able to reach out to a large number of
people who would like to help us make our voices heard. Please help!
Renee Greene
I have one child that still goes to school in New Melle and I drive Hwy D & DD daily. I have had a few close calls myself and have unfortunately seen numerous others who were not so lucky. Just had another close call the other morning with my nine year old in the car with me. Came around the curve just after FHHS an...d a semi was rounding the same curve right into our lane, at full speed we ran half off the road and with the grace of God came back onto the road without losing control. Jill and I prayed and thanked God all the way to school that day.Roberta Trost
I was traveling West bound on Highway D at approximately 8 p.m. in December a few years ago. I was past the Busch Wildlife building and before you get to the shooting range.I had my son and nephew in the car with me.
I was approaching a hill when I noticed headlights approaching the top of
the hill in both lanes. I swurved off of the roadway to the right to take the
ditch as there was no place for me to go. The car traveling in my lane swurved
into the ditch as well and actually side-swiped the "right" side of my car on
the passenger side as he went down into the ditch and back out on the roadway.
Neither car stopped, they continued East bound on Highway D toward 94. I suspect
they were racing. Luckily nobody in our vehicle was injured but it was very
traumatic for all of us.
Without the shoulders we had no where to go but the ditch, fortunately I
handled the vehicle and the idiot driving the other car ...I was able to steer
away from him as we were "in the ditch together" ... you really can't make this up. I filed a police report.
Kayla Seelbach
I'm Kayla. I lost one of my very best
friends on D almost to
T.
She was in
a head on collsion and died instantly. She overcorrected herself and
hit a car. If there would of been shoulders she might still be alive.
I also almost lost my dad and brother on d right past d and
dd. There's a very sharp turn there. The only reason they lived was
because they
were in a van. Too many people have died on those roads. They're very
unsafe. Shoulders would save alot of lives. Never again do I want to go
through the pain of loosing someone else to those roads. I'm in
St.Charles Missouri.
You can see the cab was crushed and the tires came off in the accident. The driver was hurt and he left in an ambulance.
Nancy DuBois
I saw an army truck that rolled over on Highway D last week (November 6th). The Missouri Highway Patrol Crash Report said the trucks front tire went off the right side of the road (where there was no shoulder), the driver overcorrected and went off the left side of Highway D and the truck rolled over.You can see the cab was crushed and the tires came off in the accident. The driver was hurt and he left in an ambulance.
Kristen Ottinger
I
am so happy that the community has finally started to rally together to
make our roads safer. I also have survived the loss of Bryan Frump
which was my fiance. Since his death, we have lost many more people to
these extremely dangerous roads. A handful of these deaths has been
people that we know, or friends or re...latives
to our friends. In the past 8 years of driving these roads, I have
totaled a car on hwy D, and Hwy DD. Not to mention aslo hitting 3 deer.
The risk and danger is always there and we deserve to have roads that
are safe and suitable for us to drive on. I have passed this along to
as many people as possible and I am trying to put the pettition up at
my work to get more signatures. I really think that we can make a
difference and I am so grateful for the people who have put effort into
starting this organization. We don't need anymore crosses on our roads!
Sharon Wolf
I have lived in this area for 30 years and keep seeing the same things happen. Friends that lived across the street were killed in a head on collision on Hwy DD as a direct result of a truck dropping off the edge of the road, trying to get back on and crossing into their lane. Another friend was killed just last summ...er. My granddaughter had a friend - 16 years old- killed this summer. And those are just a few instances of the many we have seen. We can put extra lanes on the major highways and bridges so people can get to work faster, but we have people dying out here! We need those shoulders!!!!Nancy Weaver Pratt
Shoulders on D & DD are truly a necessity. Numerous lifes have been lost, and so many more could have been if oncoming traffic had been involved. Inexperienced drivers and inattentive drivers are always going to be present - and we need to prot...ect them, ourselves as residents of these areas, and all the people who t...ravel these roads that are unfamiliar to them. Deer and other animals also play a role in drivers deciding to sway, and there is absolutely no where to go. Just last spring a middle school bus dropped a tire off Highway D and landed in a ditch quite a distance from the road. Thankfully no serious injuries.Lesley Coffee Siller
My husband and I have both had a serious accident in the last 6 weeks. His on D and mine on DD. Both of us are cautious drivers . We weren't speeding, under the influence, illegally passing, we weren't trying to avoid an animal or another car, and we're both 40 years old with plenty of driving experience. Is all it... takes is a little patch of ice or slushy roads to get your car sliding out of control. There is no where to go! If you don't get it under control, chances are you're going off the road. In most cases you will roll, as I did, off a steep hill. My daughter, my husband, and I feel very lucky to be here. Something must be done! Shoulders and guard rails need to be in place to save lives!
Marissa Hylton
In May 2008 I was driving home from dance class on a Wednesday night around 9:30. I live in Defiance, near D and DD, and I take D through Busch Wildlife to get home. I was sixteen and it was a few months after I had gotten my license. My tires ran off the right side of the road and I overcorrected, crossed the opposite lane, and crashed into the ditch on the other side. I was driving a GMC Envoy and it had over $8000 in damage and was pretty much totaled. I live in St Charles County.Anne Womack
This accident happened Thursday, July 9, 2009 around 2:30-3:00pm . My son dropped the right tire off the roadway, he then jerked back onto the road, crossed over into the oncoming lane, over corrected back into his lane, skidded on the grass and then tipped over. Luckily, he was wearing his seat belt and was not injured but the Suburban was totaled. In addition, he ended up off the roadway in a stretch that had neither trees nor step drops. Lastly, there was no oncoming traffic, so he did not endanger anyone else. He was lucky. Luck is not enough. Everyone isn't always lucky.
Rebecca Howard Myrick
I've lived out here 6 years and in that time my family and I have: totaled a car on a deer on D, been the first people to 2 different horrible accidents, picked a scared teenager out of the ditch after his car went of the road in a snowstorm, dropped tires off of the side of the road numerous times to avoid wildlife/da...ngerous drivers and even witnessed a high-speed car chase that involved 9 police cars at extremely high speeds. These roads are so dangerous; they scare me.Not to mention, I've witnessed SO MANY questionably sober drivers passing in dangerous areas and driving recklessly. To them, this is a nice drive out to the wineries- to us, it's one of only TWO roads to our homes. My heart aches every time I see a cross on the side of the road- or when I hear another story about yet another accident out here. It's so senseless to have to fight for safety- these accidents are preventable and shoulders are NECESSARY-at the very least-on these roads.