ST. LOUIS — It has been two years since a deadly crash that killed two MoDOT workers, and seriously injured a third.
James Brooks, Kaitlyn Anderson and Michael Brown were working along Telegraph Road over Interstate 255 when a car hit them on Nov. 18, 2021.
Brooks and Anderson died while Brown survived the crash.
Two years later, Anderson's family is honoring her in a special way, while continuing to fight for change.
For Tonya Musskopf, the past two years can only be described in one way.
"Pure hell every day. Waking up without my daughter and grandson is just devastating," she said.
It's been 24 months since Musskopf lost her daughter, Kaitlyn Anderson, and her unborn grandson, Jaxx.
"Kaitlyn was the most loving, hardworking, amazing daughter that any mama could have had. She always put others first and put herself last. She was kind, and she wanted to be a mama more than anything," she said.
But that dream was taken from the 25-year-old MoDOT worker when she was hit and killed.
Anderson's aunt, Tabatha Moore, said she misses and thinks about Kaitlyn every single day.
"Some days I still feel like I cannot believe that this actually happened, that we're going through this process. It does not always seem real, still, 24 months later," she said.
The crash also took the life of Anderson's co-worker 58-year-old James Brooks.
Moore said all three of these were lives that shouldn't have been lost.
"It's also super important to make sure that we're reminding the public that this was preventable. They should be here right now, and they would have been here now if MoDOT had done their job," she said.
Now, two years later, the bridge that caused two families so much pain is being named in honor of Anderson.
Family, friends and legislators aren't stopping there though.
Rep. Michael Burton (D-Missouri) of District 92 is one of the many lawmakers who have been involved from the start.
"After we learned all of the different mistakes that MoDOT had made, this was preventable, and so when you see something like that, as legislators, we're here to protect people," he said.
Burton said he believes legislators need to allocate funds to the transportation department, so they can protect these workers. He's also working to fix, what he's calling, 'a major loophole.'
"Right now, what we're seeing with Kaitlyn and Jaxx is that they were killed while she was working, but because she wasn't married there can be no civil lawsuit, even though there was negligence, gross negligence, all throughout the process, and it could have been prevented, but their family can do nothing," he said. "They just have to deal with it, and that's not just for state agencies, that's for all businesses in Missouri. They can literally kill you and not have any accountability whatsoever if you're not married and if you don't have kids under the age of 18."
From legislation to meetings, several lawmakers out of Jefferson City have been working tirelessly to make sure what happened to Anderson and Brooks never happens again.
Sen. Doug Beck (D-Missouri) of District 1 said he's mainly been focused on safety issues and has had meetings with the director of MoDOT to go over safety procedures.
"This did not have to happen. There could have been bumper trucks put in place and this would have not happened. We're working to go further with this and make it better for all workers, so they can come home," he said.
For everyone involved, the fight is still far from over. Moore said it's going to take everyone, not just legislators, to make action happen.
"I don't want the public to forget that this was preventable, and there was a long list of actions and lack of actions that took place leading up to that accident that could have saved their lives. It's our job and it's your job as citizens of Missouri to step up and say enough is enough. These laws need to change, she said. "Every business that has employees needs to be responsible for their safety and well-being, so they get home at night, regardless of the industry; bottom line."
Musskopf will never stop pleading for change for her daughter and grandson, so no one has to feel the pain she's felt for the past 24 months.
"I want the corporations to protect their employees, to give them the proper protection that they need to do their job and to go home to their family like Kaitlyn didn't get a chance to," she said.
A part of Interstate 70 in north St. Louis City is being named after Brooks to keep his legacy alive.
Both families want drivers to remember to slow down and move over in work zones, so workers can do their jobs safely and come home to their families.