Cops let teen leave party intoxicated, then comes a deadly crash, MO suit says
Deputies breaking up a house party allowed intoxicated juveniles to get into their cars and drive away rather than go about proper protocol, a Missouri lawsuit said.
A portion of an Old Monroe highway was blocked off as Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputies used flashlights to help guide the juveniles away from the party, the lawsuit filed Aug. 5 said.
One of the intoxicated drivers, a 16-year-old girl, drove “erratically” from the party and onto the highway, the lawsuit said.
She veered into the opposite lane and struck 23-year-old Racheal Grace Neldon who was driving home from a friend’s house April 29, 2023, according to the lawsuit and family members.
Neldon died instantly as the teen’s vehicle erupted into flames, the lawsuit and loved ones said.
Now, Neldon’s parents are suing the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, several individual deputies and the owners of the home where the party occurred, saying that Neldon’s death could have been prevented if the juveniles were not allowed to drive from the party.
“Gracie was engaged, had just started on a new career path that she loved, was preparing to buy a new house to start her married life in, and she wanted to have babies,” family wrote in a fundraiser through Mothers Against Drunk Driving. “She couldn’t wait to have a family of her own. She had her whole (life) ahead of her and she was excited for the possibilities in front of her.”
McClatchy News reached out to the sheriff’s office but did not immediately receive a response. Attorneys for the homeowners and individual deputies were not listed.
When deputies initially responded to the party, they noticed several juveniles and the homeowner’s son in a home that smelled of alcohol and marijuana, the suit said.
Instead of calling the parents of the juveniles at the party, a deputy called the host’s brother to ask what to do, according to the lawsuit. The brother told deputies to make the kids leave the property, the complaint said.
They rounded up the group of intoxicated partygoers, guided them into their vehicles and led them onto the highway, the lawsuit said.
One of those drivers was a 16-year-old who had been drinking alcohol and consuming marijuana and cocaine that night, the lawsuit said. She merged onto the highway and later hit and killed Neldon, according to the complaint.
The teen driver and two 15-year-old passengers in her vehicle also died in the crash, according to the Lincoln County Journal. An 18-year-old passenger was the only survivor of the crash, the outlet reported.
Neldon’s parents are demanding a jury trial.
Old Monroe is about a 40-mile drive northwest from St. Louis.
