White County leaders made good on their promise, installing permanent metal guardrails along the Gene Nix Road Bridge on Tuesday.
16-year-old Cecily Hamilton and 18-year-old Taylor Swing died on March 16 after their car ran off Gene Nix Road and into Town Creek. There was a narrow gap between the bridge and a tree. Their vehicle flew through that gap landing upside down in the water below.
Cecily’s father, Shannon Hamilton was arrested at the site on April 12 as he tried to install temporary gravel berms to make the bridge safer. He was charged with interfering with government property. A video of the arrest, posted by his son, went viral and drew national media attention to the safety issues and specifically the promised installation of guardrails at the bridge.
All charges were subsequently dropped at the behest of White County Sheriff Neal Walden and Enotah Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jeff Langley.
White County crews shut down the road Tuesday and apparently worked into the night to install permanent metal guardrails.
bringit4CEC Scholarship Fund
A scholarship fund, set up by Shannon Hamilton and Josh Poole (Cecily’s father and stepfather), is raising $50,000 for college aid for qualifying students in White County. Details are at #bringit4CEC.org
Feature photo courtesy of Dean Dyer, WRWH Radio
