Mention most highways and it will evoke nothing more than a few thoughts about a boring stretch of road. But with U.S. 24 things are usually much different.
For many, U.S. 24 may remind us of a familiar route to a favorite shopping destination, but it almost certainly evokes thoughts about safety. Most are aware that driving on U.S. 24 requires more care and attention due to the road's reputation for serious crashes.
For some area families -- touched by the tragedy of a fatal crash on the federal highway -- those thoughts are inescapable. The Elbersons, some of whom still live in Defiance, are one such family.
On Tuesday, it will have been 20 years since the family of Mike Elberson was killed on U.S. 24 near Adams Ridge Road. Surviving relatives plan to commemorate the anniversary with a special memorial mass at 8 a.m. Tuesday at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Defiance.
On that dark day 20 years ago, 16-year-old Mendie Elberson was driving westbound on U.S. 24 just before noon when her car went left of center and collided head-on with an eastbound semi.
Mendie, her brother, Christopher, 13, and their mother, Cynthia, 34, all of Sylvania, were declared dead at the scene. They are all buried in Defiance's Riverside Cemetery.
A family friend, Todd Hoover, 12, Sylvania, was later pronounced dead at Defiance Hospital.
The truck driver, Ross Mollohan of Doylestown, was not injured.
All the Elbersons and their friend were wearing safety belts, but what might have been a simple mistake on a county road -- driving left of center -- proved deadly on a busy highway.
Mike Elberson, father of Mendie and Christopher, and husband of Cynthia, has since moved away from northwest Ohio and remarried. At the time of the crash, he was at home. He now lives in Milwaukee, Wisc., but plans to return to Defiance for Tuesday's service. In fact, the service was his idea, according to family members.
While the Elberson family says relatives from as far away as New York will be attending, all are encouraged to attend the memorial mass. A breakfast is planned later that morning at Defiance's K of C Hall.
Twenty years later, the point where this crash occurred ironically has become one of the first places where U.S. 24 has expanded to four lanes. Within a few years, the whole route between New Haven, Ind. and Maumee will be four lanes as well.
This won't eliminate tragic fatal crashes on U.S. 24, but it will increase the margin of error for drivers. On a two-lane road like this, that margin is slight because many crashes involve trucks and smaller vehicles. Trucks aren't always to blame or at fault, but the passenger vehicles -- and those inside of them -- are almost always the biggest losers for obvious reasons.
The Elberson crash of 20 years ago, unfortunately, was a classic example of this. Since then, the road has only become busier with long strings of trucks a common site. And, the Elberson tragedy has been followed by other crashes on U.S. 24 that have been equally devastating for the families involved. So, the widening project comes none too soon.
The recent progress on U.S. 24 won't erase the tragic memories for those families or bring back those who've gone, but it does serve as a positive milestone for this project.
(Todd Helberg is city editor and editorial page editor of The Crescent-News.)