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Judge calls MoDOT’s claim to avoid lawsuit ‘absurd’
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CLAYTON, Mo. – A St. Louis County judge’s ruling means a lawsuit can move forward over a fatal work zone crash that could’ve been prevented.
On Nov. 18, 2021, a driver on Telegraph Road crashed through a work zone over Interstate 270. Missouri Department of Transportation employees James Brooks and Kaitlyn Anderson died. Anderson was six months pregnant at the time of her death, with a child she had named Jaxx.
“Finally, there’s going to be justice and accountability in the death of my daughter and grandson,” Tonya Musskopf, Kaitlyn’s mother, said via Zoom from her home in Florida.
Last fall, Musskopf traveled to the Missouri Capitol to request safety changes.
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MoDOT policy requires a protective vehicle in place as a buffer between traffic and road workers, but it was not in place on the day Brooks and Anderson were killed.
MoDOT recently tried to evade responsibility in the lawsuit by making a legal argument that Kaitlyn’s unborn baby was an employee.
“What they’re hoping is they don’t pay anything,” attorney Andrew Mundwiller said January, shortly after the bizarre claim.
Mundwiller explained that workers’ comp already refused to pay out because Kaitlyn was not married and her baby Jaxx did not survive. That’s why the family is suing MoDOT for damages, with MoDOT then answering that Jaxx was an employee.
“If they were to get someone to buy that, then that means your case is dismissed out of St. Louis County, go to the comp system, where they’re going to take a different position, just like they did initially,” Mundwiller said.
“How can they say an unborn child is their employee? It didn’t make sense,” Musskopf said.
A judge agreed it did not make sense, ruling on March 29 “(MoDOT’s) statutory interpretation of the workers’ compensation law to exclude Jaxx Jarvis’ claims here would lead to an extremely absurd result.”
The judge added, “Jaxx Jarvis’ independent claims as an unborn child are just as strong as if he was outside his mother’s womb next to her at the time of his death from the accident.”
“(The judge) made his decision on what would have been Jaxx’s first birthday, so I’m taking that as a sign from Kaitlyn that she’s going to help me fight MoDOT, and she’s going to help me get through this,” Musskopf said.
Meanwhile, Mundwiller said the fight is far from over, but the ruling is an important hurdle for them to clear in their battle to get a trial by jury.
Musskopf will return to Missouri soon to continue her “Slow Down, Move Over” campaign, and to push for legislation that would increase the liability of employers who break safety rules.
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JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. – Two people are behind bars after a man reportedly attacked a Jefferson County deputy with a screwdriver during an attempted arrest over the weekend.
Prosecutors have charged Nicholas Davis, 47, and Amanda Davis, 45, of Dittmer, Missouri, with felonies in the investigation.
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The alleged attack followed a traffic stop of a driver in the 9500 block of Jones Creek Road on July 7, though the driver was not Nicholas or Amanda.
According to court documents obtained by FOX 2, Nicholas reportedly came out of his nearby home, yelled at a deputy and started approaching him while holding a screwdriver. The deputy initially ordered Nicholas to back away, then used pepper spray.
Per court documents, the deputy attempted to arrest Nicholas, who then struck him in the chest with the screwdriver. Amanda reportedly approached the deputy and pulled him away from Nicholas before both ran inside their home.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office says the situation prompted an hours-long standoff involving negotiators, a SWAT team and a K-9 deputy. The situation led to Nicholas refusing warnings and being bitten by a K-9.
Nicholas and Amanda are both jailed in the Jefferson County Jail without bond. Nicholas is charged with first-degree assault on a special victim and armed criminal action. Amanda is charged with resisting/interfering with arrest.
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ST. LOUIS — The new St. Louis schools superintendent will be officially sworn into office today. Dr. Keisha Scarlett took over the job in July after the retirement of Dr. Kelvin Adams. She was assistant superintendent in the Seattle Public School District. The installation ceremony is at 6:15 p.m. before the regular school board meeting.
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ST. LOUIS — A gasoline tanker truck crashed into a Metro transit center near Riverview and Hall Streets early Tuesday morning and knocked over a power pole. The pole is leaning on other power lines. Police have the area blocked off here because there is a downed power line. Ameren and Metro crews are also on the scene.
The incident happened around 12:30 a.m. It’s still unclear exactly what caused the crash, but we do that there was a second vehicle somehow involved. The airbags on that second vehicle did deploy.
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Police at the scene have not been able to give us a lot of details. Metro officials tell FOX 2 that the transit center here is operating this morning for passengers and buses. Access to certain areas will be limited here as clean up unfolds.
A Metro spokesperson says half of the station isn’t being used right now because of safety issues. It isn’t impacting overall bus operations, everything is just happening on the other side of transit center.
The extent of the damage to the actual transit center is still unclear, but I’m told it does not appear to be extreme. A Metro spokesperson tells me there were no injuries to any metro workers or passengers. The tanker driver also was not injured.
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