WENTZVILLE, Mo. – Sunday marks two years since a crash that killed a mother and her two daughters. It happened on Highway 61 in Wentzville near North Point Prairie Road, just three miles from a fatal crash this weekend.
"For reasons we don’t know, three lives were taken away, stolen from our hearts, that’s why we're here today,” a poem recited by a friend of the family.
Jacqueline Faudi, 36, was driving northbound on Highway 61 on Jan. 21, 2016. Her two daughters, Autumn 10, and Kaydence, 8-months, were in the back seat. Another driver hit them from behind, causing their car to cross over the median. A truck driving southbound T-boned their car on the other side of the highway.
Sunday afternoon, friends and family came together at the site of the horrible crash.
“It was just a sweet little family unit,” remembered Tammy Miller, Kaydence’s grandmother.
"Today was a hard one,” said Jeremy Faudi. Faudi is Autumn’s father.
“Really miss my little girl and think about her every day,” Faudi said. "I woke up at 7:22 a.m. this morning. I believe it was about the time the accident happened. I thought that was kind of ironic,” he said.
For the family, the memory of that morning two years ago is still fresh in their minds.
“How it feels like it just happened yesterday. It's still right here, that pain,” said Miller, as she pointed to her heart.
The group is advocating for steel barriers or guardrails on either side of the northbound and southbound lanes. They believe that simple addition can save lives.
"Losing one person is horrible, but losing three beautiful young people like this, it has been devastating for everybody,” Miller said.
As part of the annual memorial, sweet songs were played, cathartic poems recited and balloons released into the air.
“We know that life ain’t fair to our Autumn, Kay and Jackie, but we know that they are in heaven and we know that they are happy,” recited Angela Taylor, a family friend.
For anyone driving southbound on Highway 61, there is a permanent marker, three wooden crosses, that serve as a reminder of the three lives lost.
“Just want their memory to keep going,” said Taylor.
MoDOT started its $10.9 million safety improvement project in August 2017. The idea is to eliminate some of the dangerous crossovers along 61. The entire project is supposed to take 2 years, ending in the summer of 2019.
