Kansas City,MO : Man killed in head-on crash on July, Tuesday 18th 2017

ST. LOUIS • Rich Dennett, 72, has lived on Riverview Drive for more than 20 years. In that time, speeding cars have crashed into several nearby telephone poles, damaged three of his cars, taken out his mailbox at least 10 times and even launched over his fish pond before landing in his driveway.

Speeders, careless drivers and just plain accidents have long sparked the ire of residents along this stretch of road between the Mississippi River and St. Louis County. Earlier this year, a cyclist was struck and killed to the north. There was a fatal crash less than a mile to the south of Dennett’s home in May, and another in the same area in June.

And Tuesday morning, it was a neighbor of Dennett’s killed in yet another crash near Dennett’s home in the 9700 block of Riverview.

Police say Gary Elmer, 64, was driving north in the southbound lane of Riverview when he slammed into a southbound driver about 6 a.m. Elmer, who was pronounced dead at a hospital, may have been trying to take a quick shortcut from Bluff Drive to Valley Drive without fully pulling into the northbound traffic lane of Riverview for the 90 or so feet between the two cross streets.

Elmer lived nearby, in the 300 block of Scenic Drive, police said. The other driver, a 39-year-old man, was seriously injured.

Lt. Paul Lauer, commander of the St. Louis Police Department’s traffic safety division, said he’s aware of the concerns of those such as Dennett who live along Riverview.

“It does seem speed is a problem,” Lauer said. “This one is more poor judgment.”

Elmer was driving a Honda Accord north in the southbound lane. Lauer said it appears he had made a quick turn onto Riverview from Bluff Drive, apparently planning to make another quick left onto Valley Drive.

But instead of turning onto Riverview’s northbound lane, he stayed to the left in the southbound lane — and was hit by an oncoming southbound Dodge Challenger. Skid marks from the Challenger show its driver tried to stop, Lauer said.

That man was able to talk to police at the scene and explain what happened. The police accident-reconstruction team was investigating the crash.



Source :
Man killed in head-on crash on Riverview Drive is 4th to die along road this year