Family members of a man killed in a fiery accident on the Chain of Rocks Bridge Wednesday morning say they believe he would be alive had a dispatcher's error not sent police to another location.
Michael Whitmore, 46, of the 2100 block of Avon Drive in Florissant, was struck and killed around 4:45 a.m. Wednesday while trying to move his disabled car out of traffic. A truck driver in the westbound lanes swerved to miss the car but hit Whitmore. The tractor-trailer then hit the median and caught fire.
Monica Lewis, Whitmore's longtime girlfriend, said authorities told her he had called 911 to report that his car had broken down.
Whitmore was himself a truck driver, and Lewis believes he started moving his car despite the darkness to make sure another driver would not hit it. "He didn't want it on him that something happened to someone else" trying to avoid his car, she speculated.
Police response to Whitmore's disabled vehicle was briefly delayed when a 911 dispatcher confused the location, sending officers to Interstate 70 and Riverview Drive instead of Interstate 270 and Riverview.
Members of Whitmore's family said they understood the delay was a mistake, but they believe it was nevertheless deadly.
"It's an easy miscommunication to make," Lewis said Friday night at the Florissant home of Whitmore's parents, where she had gathered with them and other relatives. "Unfortunately, due to the mistake, there was a fatality. (With the police presence), they would have had more light and the truck driver would've seen it."
St. Louis police have said that they were delayed about six minutes due to the dispatcher's error. But they say that even without the delay, officers didn't have time to reach the scene before the crash.
A spokeswoman declined further comment Friday night.
The bridge was closed for several hours after the crash as authorities put out the fire and investigated.
Lewis said she was called by a neighbor of Whitmore's on Wednesday morning. The neighbor had been alerted by officials trying to reach someone at Whitmore's home, where he lived alone. Lewis said she later saw Whitmore's car on television, amid the debris on the bridge. She then called authorities.
Family members said officials used medical records to identify Whitmore, who was badly burned in the blaze. They got official confirmation Friday morning.
Whitmore was likely headed to work at Schneider National when he was killed, his family said. He had worked for the trucking company for about 22 years.
Funeral arrangements were incomplete.
Survivors include a 9-year-old daughter, Kennedi; his parents, Luther and Portia; a brother, Maurice; and a sister, Carolyn Corn.
Relatives described a shy man who was full of life and enjoyed spending time with his family.
"If you met him once, you had a friend for life," said Maurice Whitmore.
Recently, he had taken an interest in motorcycles and had joined the Sundance Riders Motorcycle Club, based in St. Louis.
Lewis joked that the hobby had become so much a part of Whitmore's life that it had begun cutting in on the couple's quality time.
"But he loved those bikes," she said.
Provided By: stltoday.com
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