Family tragedy spurs roadside cleanup effort near Jackson

Jackson resident Rebecca Tosarello has turned her family's tragedy into a roadside cleanup effort that serves as a tribute to her sister, who was killed in a traffic accident more than two years ago.

Tosarello and her family and friends come together four times a year to pick up trash along a nearly mile-long stretch of Highway 34/72 west of Jackson, from Cape Girardeau County Road 438 to where Highway 34 turns west toward Marble Hill, Missouri.

Rebecca's sister, Rachel Marie (Allen) Brown, was headed home to her rural Cape Girardeau County home after a trip to the grocery store when her vehicle was struck by a vehicle that crossed the center divider Aug. 23, 2014.

Tosarello said the driver of the other car crashed into her sister's vehicle after blacking out.

Tosarello said her sister was only eight miles from home when the accident occurred.

"It was a very tragic day," she said.

Brown's daughter, Katelyn, who was 7 at the time, survived, as did Brown's boyfriend, Tosarello said.

Tosarello's husband, Jonny, suggested a few months after the accident the family adopt a highway in honor of Rachel.

"I just thought it was a fantastic idea," Tosarello recalled.

She said she contacted the Missouri Department of Transportation and learned the section of highway where the fatal accident occurred was available for adoption.

"I just felt it was meant to be," she said Monday. "I wanted to do everything I could to keep her memory and legacy alive."

She said, "My sister Rachel was one beautiful girl on the inside and out. She lived each day to the fullest and was always up for an adventure."

Tosarello said her sister was "an incredible mother and her daughter Katelyn was her pride and joy."

Tosarello said the whole family embraced the cleanup effort, adopting that section of state highway at the end of 2014.

"It has been incredible," she said Monday. "It is very touching the amount of support we have received."

Even some people who did not know Rachel personally have joined in the cleanup efforts, she said.

Tosarello said she believes her sister "would be amazed" how family and friends have come together to remember her.

Katelyn, now 9, recruits family and friends to assist with the cleanup efforts.

"She likes to make it fun and looks at it like a treasure hunt," Tosarello said. "She tells people that you never know what you're going to find while you're picking up trash."

Tosarello said the cleanups typically are held Sundays. The most recent was March 12. Tosarello brought her now-7-month-old daughter to the roadside cleanup. The girl is named Rachel in memory of Tosarello's sister.

Tosarello said the cleanup draws friends and family together.

"We try to make the cleanup fun. Picking up trash isn't glamorous," she said.

"I think the last time, we had 19 bags of trash," Tosarello recalled.

MoDOT provides the trash bags and disposes of the collected trash.

This marks the 30th anniversary of the Adopt-A-Highway program, said Mark Shelton, MoDOT's Southeast District engineer.

The Southeast District has more than 900 adopter groups, and each has "a special reason for adopting," Shelton said in a news release.

Tosarello said, "You would not believe how many people litter."

Family and friends have picked up a lot of Styrofoam cups as well as everything from clothes to dishes, she said.

"My mom picked up a hammer," she added.

"We feel we are not only doing it in memory of Rachel, but it is something to help keep Missouri beautiful," Tosarello said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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