JENNINGS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - Two people died Friday in a crash on Lucas-Hunt Road near Hord Avenue in Jennings, according to St. Louis County police.

Investigators said one car sideswept another car, sending the first car into the opposite lane of traffic, striking another car, and then rolling over into a bank of trees. The drivers of two of the cars died.

History of crashes

According to St. Louis County police, there have been 34 wrecks with injuries and three deaths in the past two years, including the two most recent deaths, along the stretch of Lucas-Hunt Road between Jacobi Avenue and Hord Avenue. That stretch of road is less than a mile long.

In 2020, five people were killed along the same stretch of road after a crash sent a van into nearby woods.

Justin Spalding, a tow-truck operator working at the latest crash scene, said he's responded to several crashes on that road over the past year.

 I've witnessed probably about six accidents. I've actually seen more cars in the trees at this intersection than on the road,  Spalding said.

Spalding said the road is  the hottest spot for wrecks  in Jennings.

Bridge repair concerns

For the past year, some lanes of traffic near the intersection of Lucas-Hunt and Hord have been closed for a bridge repair project. Spalding said the cones set up for the closures make the road more dangerous.

 They've been here since I started working here [one year ago], and I haven't seen no work being done,  Spalding said.

The project is being led by the St. Louis County Department of Transportation. According to the department, repairs have not started as the county works to secure federal funding. The county hopes to start the project in 2028.

 I don't know how long it takes to design a bridge, but I think two years is a little long,  said Robert Cotton, who lives one block away from the crash.

 I would like for them to get this project finished so that accidents will quit happening, because before they started blocking off this road, there were some accidents but not as many as there are today,  Cotton said.

Spalding is asking drivers in the

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