It has been almost a year since the tragic car crash that took the lives of 29-year-old Autumn Mehl, of Berrien Springs, and 26-year-old Steven Rough, of Buchanan, on Feb. 14, 2016.
Several months after the collision that rattled the community, Rough’s parents are questioning why guardrails were not installed on the bridge. After an apparently severe collision on the same bridge last month, the Roughs believe the guardrail installed after their son’s crash may have saved someone’s life.
Mehl and Rough were reported missing on Feb. 13 after they were seen leaving Jay’s Lounge the previous evening, according to police.
The following day a volunteer search party found Mehl’s Toyota Camry upside down in the Brandywine Creek near Bond and Beeson Streets in Niles Township, with Rough’s and Mehl’s bodies inside the vehicle. The car had gone off the bridge that spans the creek and dropped an approximate 12-feet to the water below.
Mehl was a popular fitness instructor at the Buchanan-Niles YMCA and a mother of five. Mehl’s husband, Alex, said she was known for her smile and dance moves. Rough had a 2-year-old son and was known for being a good father and husband, according to fiancée Ariel Berry.
Their deaths sparked grief across the community bringing questions about the safety of the road, where they perished.
The night his son was reported missing, Bill Rough got in the car and went driving in search of Steven. He still returns to the spot where his son lost his life, keeping a memorial honoring him.
Rough said he was troubled by the fact that a guardrail had not been established before his son lost his life.
His grandson, Logan will never get to know his father.
“He lost his father because of a lack of safety,” Bill said.
The issue for Bill was magnified when a crash occurred at approximately 10 p.m., Dec. 21, where a 25-year-old Niles woman lost control of a vehicle as she traveled northbound on Bond Street. Her vehicle left the roadway to the right, crashing into the guardrail, a road sign and a tree, according to Lt. Steve Campbell with the Berrien County Sheriff Department.
The woman fled the scene and was later found by authorities. She was treated for minor injuries at Lakeland Hospital.
“She would have hit those trees, and they would not have moved like the guardrail did,” Bill said.
In response to the review, a guardrail was installed at the bridge spanning the tributary at Bond and Beeson Streets in April 2016. Railing was placed on the east and west side of the bridge. The guardrail cost $1,400.
After the deaths of Mehl and Rough, the Berrien County Road Commission prompted an investigation to determine whether or not the bridge where Mehl and Rough crashed warranted a guardrail. The managing director for the Berrien County Road Commission Louis Csokasy said this is standard procedure in response to each fatality on Berrien County roads.
“We take every fatality on county roads personally,” Csokasy said. “Our goal here is to minimize them and eventually eliminate them, and, in my world, we are constantly working toward that.”
Road commissioners follow guidelines for guardrail implementation, but even if the guidelines are met, it does not mandate that a guardrail be placed in that location.
One of the evaluated factors is if the road has at least a 3-foot slope and a 1-foot drop.
In the case of the bridge near the intersection of Beeson and Bond Streets, Csokasy said the stretch of road met those guidelines, before the fatalities, though based on the history of the road there was not an indication of a needed guardrail.
Csokasy said road crashes are recorded and monitored, indicating hot spots where regular accidents might occur.
“This did not show up as a hot spot,” Csokasy said. “We are not just sitting here saying ‘Gee, we should be putting something there and not putting it there.’”
Csokasy said the goal of the Berrien County road commissioners is to continue to look for ways to make the roads safe, he said. Recent trend lines show a decline in the number of fatalities on Berrien County Roads.
The road commissioners received two Michigan Department of Transportation safety grants for 2017, including $998,000 for an intersection project on Red Arrow Highway in Watervliet. The commissioners also received $539,400 specifically for guardrails.
As days go by, Bill continues to visit the bridge, where his son lost his life.
On a cold winter day, there is little more than the sound of the creek trickling nearby. Only a cross bearing Steven’s name and wreath serve as a reminder of the tragedy that unfolded.
“He was a good dad,” Bill said. “Losing a child is the worst thing that can happen.”