ST. LOUIS – A family is suing the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission, claiming snowy roads in January contributed to a car crash that killed their loved one.

McKendree University water polo coach Colleen Lischwe died in a crash on Interstate 44 this past winter. On Jan. 15, she was having car troubles and stopped on a snowy overpass on I-44 over South Vandeventer Avenue. A semi-truck rear-ended her, pushing her car off of the overpass to the ground below. Lischwe did not survive. She was 34.

“The snow and ice removal procedures on the roadways this past season have been absolutely atrocious,” Grant Boyd, co-counsel for Lischwe’s family, said.

St. Louis had more than eight inches of snow about a week before the crash. According to the new lawsuit, Lischwe could not pull over on the shoulder because it was still covered in snow. Her family is now suing the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission due to MoDOT’s snow removal efforts at the time.

“The snow and ice control protocols as well as removal protocols were not followed when they were preparing and dealing with the snow and icefall around that time,” Boyd said.

The lawsuit claims that snow was piled on the side of the overpass, creating a ramp against the bridge safety barrier, which helped launch Lischwe’s car off the road. FOX 2 News looked up MoDOT’s Snow and Ice Operations regulations.

It says that paved shoulders should be cleared in conjunction with plowing the travel lanes, “especially the high sides of superelevated curves.”

It specifically mentions giving “special consideration” to traffic barriers along bridges where snow accumulation “has the potential to form ramps.”

Boyd says MODOT is not solely to blame.

“We’re very quickly going to be adding another defendant, including the truck driver, trucking company, as well as at least one other entity. So, it’s not just about MODOT. We’re making sure we’re holding everyone accountable,” he said.

SLMPD said at the time of the crash that the truck driver admitted to looking down to pick up a drink shortly before the crash occurred.

MoDOT declined to comment on the pending litigation.