ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) – A car crashed into a house in south St. Louis County, killing the driver, Tuesday.
The accident occurred just before 2:30 p.m. on Kingston Drive near Telegraph. The day after the crash, St. Louis County police later identified the driver as 73-year-old Cheryl Doyon.
A neighbor provided News 4 with a video of the incident. The video showed the car going airborne and then crashing into the home.
[GRAPHIC WARNING: Video below could be disturbing to some viewers]
GRAPHIC WARNING: News 4 obtained video showing a car crashing into a home in south St. Louis County on July 18, 2023.
St. Louis County Police said a preliminary investigation indicates that the vehicle was driving at an extremely high rate of speed, veered from the roadway, hit an embankment and went airborne. The car crashed into two homes, causing significant damage to one of them.
Veronica Schoettle lived in the house and told News 4 that four other people were inside at the time. Including her 3-year-old nephew, who was on a bed when the car struck the home and even pushed the bed, along with the child, but he was okay. She said the adults were sitting at a table talking politics when the car hit.
A sign on the front door said the house is condemned; Schoettle said the home she rents is a total loss.
This also wasn’t the first big crash on Kingston Drive.
“They do speed a lot here, like 50 or 60 up here,” said Benjamin Carlin, who lives nearby.
Carlin and other neighbors said the open two-lane road, with few stoplights and stop signs leads to drivers going fast.
“It’s kind of a highway in the city,” said Janet Moeller.
Those incidents can lead to issues, including multiple bus crashes over the last several years.
“I don’t know why so many crashing out here,” said Debbie Gleiforst, who lives two blocks away from Tuesday’s crash.
Gleiforst said she and her husband’s home was hit by a different bus earlier this year. They still have plenty of visible damage to show for it out front.
“They’re driving too fast. They’re getting to be more and more people on drugs and drinking and not being safe people,” said Debbie Gleiforst.
Trailnet is a non-profit organization that studies crashes and works to make roads safer. Executive chief officer Cindy Mense told News 4 that there are some specific reasons why some roads see more speeders.
“Speeding is the result of the environment. If the roadway reads like a highway people are going to drive too fast,” she said.
MoDOT is planning a major resurfacing project on Route 231, which includes the section that is Kingston Drive. The public will have the opportunity to provide input on what additional features are added to the roadway, some of which could be safety features.
A public meeting on the Route 231 project is being held July 27 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Hancock Place School District Central Office, 9417 S. Broadway, St. Louis, MO, 63125.
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