EDWARDSVILLE — The Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office has charged a St. Louis man with three felonies in connection with a crash that seriously damaged a historic Collinsville funeral home last year.
Joseph T. Burke drove his 2017 white Ford F-150 truck through the side of Kassly-Meridith Funeral Home on Aug. 22, 2021, according to a Collinsville police report released this week.
Burke, 59, was charged on March 7. The counts include aggravated driving while under the influence; unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon; and driving with a revoked license due to a previous driving while intoxicated conviction in Missouri.
The police report states that Burke told investigators he takes a variety of prescription drugs without following instructions or heeding warnings and also gets opiates from other people for back pain. Some of the drugs are known to cause dizziness, blurred vision or drowsiness.
“(Burke said) he wasn’t aware that he should not have taken any of his medications before driving and does not feel any impairment due to his medications,” Detective Sgt. Keith Jackson wrote.
Toxicology tests found the tranquilizer clonazepam in Burke’s system, according to the police report. Medical staff who treated him at Anderson Hospital in Maryville described him as “sleepy” with “slurred speech” and at risk of falling because of his “altered mental status.”
The Madison County charging document states that when Burke drove with the drug in his system, it was “unlawful use or consumption of a controlled substance.”
Drugs, not alcohol, at issue
Toxicology showed no significant concentration of alcohol in Burke’s system at the time of the accident, according to the police report.
Jackson wrote that Burke told him he was working on a house in Belleville before he headed to O’Fallon to pick up a friend who needed a ride, lost his way, found himself in unfamiliar territory and wasn’t able to “negotiate the curve” in front of the funeral home.
The police report also stated that:
—Burke had multiple DWI-related charges on his Missouri record, including a 2011 felony conviction for aggravated driving while intoxicated that led to incarceration.
—His driver’s license had been revoked because of the 2011 conviction.
—Investigators found a bowl of medications, as well as pill bottles throughout the cab of his truck.
—There was a loaded 45-caliber semiautomatic handgun on the dashboard that belonged to his son.
—Burke told police he didn’t know the gun was in the truck and he hadn’t been drinking alcohol or taking illegal drugs before the crash.
—Burke speculated at different times that he may have fallen asleep or suffered a heart attack.
—An event data recorder showed that the truck was traveling at 58 mph in a 30 mph zone before it veered off Vandalia Street in Collinsville and that the driver didn’t brake until a few seconds before impact.
“(Burke said) he knows he does not have a license, but still needs to drive,” Jackson wrote. “… He is currently trying to get his license back.”
There were no bodies being kept at the funeral home at the time of the accident. Burke was treated for minor injuries at Anderson Hospital and released. No one else was hurt.
On March 7, Madison County Associate Judge Ron Slemer set Burke’s bond at $100,000. He remained at large as of Thursday, according to Collinsville police.
Funeral home open for business
Kassly-Meridith Funeral Home, formerly Herbert A. Kassly Funeral Home, is at 515 Vandalia St. (Illinois 159) in Collinsville. The brick building with stained-glass windows is a local landmark that dates back to the 1930s.
Burke’s crash occurred about 3 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021. It woke up several neighbors who came outside to see what was going on.
The truck had crossed the parking lot, knocked out a pillar, climbed a flight of concrete stairs and plowed through a side door. It landed with its hood and cab inside the chapel and its bed outside, lodged under a precariously drooping porte cochere (covered drive-thru).
The spectacle resulted in a steady stream of local residents driving by for two days before a crane was used to stabilize the structure enough to remove the truck.
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“It was just a mess,” said John Schemerhorn, funeral director at Kassly-Meridith.
The funeral home has stayed open the past six months by using its parlor for small gatherings and arranging for larger memorial services to be held at local churches.
The business lost revenue because many people thought it was closed, but some of that was offset by funerals for family members with prepaid arrangements, according to Schemerhorn.
Sale caused complications
A complicating factor in the aftermath of the accident was that Jim Meridith, owner of Highland-based Meridith Funeral Home, was in the process of buying Kassly in August. The sale wasn’t completed until December.
“We finally got the insurance and everything squared away,” Schemerhorn said Thursday.
Meridith hopes to see a contractor start repairing and rebuilding the structure in about a month with the goal of completing the project by late spring or early summer.
Plans call for construction of a longer and wider drive-thru, using original bricks to retain the historic character of the building, as well as a larger side door with a wheelchair ramp.
“It’s going to be put back pretty much like it was, but we’re going to do some updating, which I think is a good thing,” Schemerhorn said.
The crash also caused serious interior damage, mostly involving the chapel, which has solid-oak pews, stained-glass windows and ornate light fixtures shaped like the papal tiara (pope’s hat). Meridith is still trying to determine if the organ can be saved.
The former Kassly Funeral Home company was founded in 1906 by John Kassly in East St. Louis. John’s son, Herbert, bought the old Keith Funeral Home in Collinsville in 1936.
Herbert renamed the business Herbert A. Kassly Funeral Home, which operated out of Keith’s building at 313 Vandalia St. while a new building at 515 Vandalia St. was being constructed. It became a city of Collinsville landmark in 2008. Herbert’s son, Paul Kassly, operated the business until his death in 2019.
Meridith also owns funeral homes in Highland, Lebanon, Pocahontas, West Salem, Allendale, Albion and Cisne.
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