A family’s frustration: still no guardrails at fatal crash scene [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

Dec. 21--Relatives of a Washington, Mo., teen killed when her car plunged into a pond off Augusta Bottom Road more than a year ago now have a study that backs their call for guardrails but still no promise to install them.

The study, requested by the Washington Area Highway Transportation Committee, found that guardrails should be added along a stretch of the road that has ponds on both sides.

The recommendation is what the family expected, but the lack of follow-up on it is frustrating, said Sheryll Berger, aunt of Ella Neier, 16, who died in the single-car crash on Oct. 22, 2010.

"The family wants it done now," Berger said. "We are desperately trying to save another family from going through this."

The study is the latest chapter in a squabble over who is responsible for the section of Augusta Bottom Road known as Augusta Parkway.

Augusta Bottom Road, which runs through St. Charles and Warren counties, is used as a shortcut to get to Washington and area wineries.

The 1,200-foot section where the crash happened is in Warren County, but both Augusta and Washington have done maintenance on it since shortly after the Great Flood of 1993. At the time, Augusta farmers rebuilt the road against Warren County's objections.

A property record search has not uncovered which entity owns the segment, and county commissioners have refused to take responsibility for its maintenance.

In the past year, major improvements have been made on St. Charles County's portion of the road. Guardrails went up in an area where another fatal crash happened a month after Neier's. In the second crash, Joseph Volmert, also of Washington, was killed when his pickup went into a pond. St. Charles County's section is paved, the other 1.7 miles are gravel. About 700 cars travel it daily.

St. Charles County Councilman Joe Brazil, who spearheaded the improvements in St. Charles County, called Warren County's inaction unneighborly.

"To me it's very selfish and not the right thing to do," he said. "I'm surprised by their behavior."

Warren County commissioner Arden Engelage said the county had implemented some of the study's recommendations on its portion of the road, such as signs and reflectors on electrical poles and trees, and had lowered the speed limit to 20 mph. He said a survey of recent accidents showed that speed was the most common contributing factor, and the county is considering stepping up enforcement.

He reiterated that the county is not responsible for the Augusta Parkway segment and even after Neier's family collected pledges for $75,000 -- enough to pay for the guardrails -- Engelage said the county would not pay to maintain them.

Warren County Coroner Roger Mauzy, who has tried to intercede with commissioners on behalf of the Neier family, said repairs to guardrails because of crashes likely would be covered by a motorist's insurance so maintenance costs should be minimal.

Mauzy said now that a study has backed the family's request, the guardrails should go up without delay.

"There's a lot of people in this county who want that road fixed," he said. "We have the recommendations, so let's not sit around and wait any more."

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