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every North Carolina highway,
you'll see some guardrails
on the side of the road.
They were meant to help save li,
but a WCNC Charlotte investigatn
found that some of them in our
state are potentially dangerous,
and it's all because of
the way they're installed.
Some of them are assembled using
mismatched parts. Often they are
called Frankenstein guardrails.
Our Nate Moravito is seeking solutions
tonight and getting results.
Every time Steve Immers
gets behind the wheel,
he's driven to save
someone's life right there.
The same guardrails that are now
just part of the landscape for
most of us, he can't ignore.
His crusade began on November 1,
2016 when his teenage daughter Hannah.
Died after crashing into a
guardrail in Tennessee. Nothing
prepares you for the shock and horror of
losing your child nearly 6 1/2 years later.
This is a lot worse than I thought. He's
in the middle of Billy Graham Parkway.
This is just completely and
totally wrong explaining
why this safety device is actually dangerous.
These blackouts. Do not go with that system.
With Immer's help, we've identified more
than 15 Frankenstein guardrails in our area.
It's just combinations from different
systems that are not tested that way.
Just a fraction of what he beli.
So we're probably talking hundr.
Is a systemic problem from 485
to 77 to Wilkinson Blvd.
That's been Frankenstein
26 in Hendersonville. Major screw up here,
to several on this stretch of 74 in Shelby
for Frankenstein car girls. And
of course, and it's very similar
this one on Billy Grant to the
crash that killed Hunter Burns.
Timers says Burns died after colliding
with a Frankenstein guardrail in Florida.
It's hard to be strong,
the 22 year olds parents it's hard to
talk about and the Alonzo family said a
Frankenstein guardrail in Georgia killed
their 18 year old daughter Isab.
It's devastating.
What are you all going to do about it?
Kevin Lacey is with the North
Carolina Department of Transportation
if we are aware of it. Yes, we will fix it.
The agency's pledge to repair
the ones we've identified.
But NCDOT is responsible for moe
miles of roadway than any other
state in the US except Texas. Y,
and Lacey says the agency is ber
off spending its limited dollar.
Replacing outdated guardrails
rather than scouring the state
for improperly assembled ones,
There's a likelihood that
we would save more lives. He
cited federal data that show while the
number of guardrail crashes has increased,
the percentage of those that resulted in
serious injuries or deaths remains low.
These devices are performing far
superior than what they were years ago,
adding there's no evidence
Frankenstein guardrails pose a
widespread danger in North Caroa
we're not aware of. Fatalities r
severe injuries involving these.
I'm not saying that it's going o
operate as it was intended to operate.
The state tells us it is
being proactive on this issue,
planning training for its emplos
and contractors to make sure
guardrails are properly installd
the first time in Raleigh.
Nate Morabito, WCNC, Charlotte
If you're wondering if you drive
by one of these Frankenstein
guardrails on your daily commut,
we can help you find out.
If you scan this QR code on your screen,
it will take you to an interacte
map where you can see exactly we
each one is located in our stat.
We also will have that map incld
in Nate's article on our websit,
wcnc.com and inside our mobile .