High-speed crashes prompt calls for safer roads in south St. Louis County

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - Residents in south St. Louis County are calling for safety improvements on Kingston Drive following a string of high-speed crashes, including a two-car collision that damaged a home earlier this week. Since the start of 2023, 22 cars have crashed, 14 people have been injured and one person has died in the area near Kingston Drive and Telegraph Road. The neighborhood has become known for dangerous driving conditions and frequent accidents. While St. Louis County police say they have increased enforcement patrols in the area, neighbors are asking the county and state to implement permanent infrastructure changes to slow down traffic. Wednesday's crash involved two vehicles and resulted in one car slamming into a neighbor's porch. Jenna Rinck and David Forrest live two houses down from the crash site and described the difficulty of navigating their own neighborhood. Rinck expressed concern over the recurring nature of these incidents. "I don't know how many people need to be critically injured or die before they do something," Rinck said. Forrest noted that the neighbor whose home was damaged on Wednesday has been involved in three separate accidents at that location. "To find out that neighbor was the one involved in the accident and this is their third one, it's like… people don't have the money to keep doing this," Forrest said. Rinck added that officials should prioritize traffic calming measures in the area. "You would think it would be a priority to do something to slow people down right there. And nobody's doing anything," Rinck said. Resident Joe Nickel, who commutes on Kingston Drive every day, said he would like to see more active traffic enforcement. Nickel described the daily experience as hazardous. "Safety man. It's like you're risking your life just trying to go one way or another," Nickel said. He noted that he has not seen a significant increase in police activity despite the frequency of crashes. "I commute on this road every day so I kind of expected to see the police out here shooting radar a little more and haven't seen them ever since, so," Nickel said. The area has a history of high-speed collisions, including a fatal incident in 2023. In that case, a driver died at the scene after a vehicle estimated to be traveling nearly 100 mph crashed into a home. Rinck said the constant threat of accidents has affected the quality of life for those living along the road. "That is not how we want to feel on this street. It's just unnecessary. It's so easy to fix," Rinck said. St. Louis County police officials stated that they are taking steps to address the safety concerns. A spokesperson said the Highway Safety Unit has recently conducted enforcement patrols near the intersection. Police are also considering the installation of speed-monitoring trailers along Kingston Drive to discourage speeding. The Missouri Department of Transportation has developed plans to add a center turn lane and multiple crosswalks along Kingston Drive to improve safety. While the agency's website indicated construction was expected to begin late last year, no updated timeline for the project has been confirmed. All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KTVI. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat information into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KTVI staff before being published.