Mother of teen killed at State Street Jump speaks about flattening project

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Stories of horrific crashes at the State Street Jump between Omaha and Bennington live on.

The ‘State Street Jump’ refers to the hill at 168th and State Streets. The ominous intersection has county roads and sits on top of a rolling hill.

It was the scene of a tragedy on April 1st,1994.

Christine Connor said, “There’s a before and after.”

Connor divides her life into two parts: “What life was life before Matt died and what it’s been like after,” she said.

Matt Guilfoyle is Connor’s 16-year-old son. He was killed when the vehicle he was in veered off the jump three decades ago.

Connor said, “I didn’t know pain like this.”

Two other teens died that night: Jadyn Lombardi and Janelle Papillon. The driver was the only survivor.

Connor said, “I think I was in shock for a year. Mark Twain buried a child, and he wrote to his wife, ‘I wish you could have been spared this most unutterable sorrow.’ There’s just no way to describe it,” she said.

Douglas County engineers said plans to flatten the road began several years later but were derailed due to lack of funding.

However, plans are now well underway to lower the intersection by about 17 feet, widen the road, and add signals.

Connor said, “I am so grateful. Eternally grateful. Many lives would have been saved if they would have done this 30 years ago because there were subsequent accidents all along that road there.”

Connor says her son’s tragedy caught a lot of media attention mainly due to one factor. “The accident is a direct result of their drinking,” she said.

Connor says she knew her son was in trouble before the accident.

“He was a teenager, he was drinking, and I knew it, and I was trying to get him into alcohol treatment.”

But she never got the chance.

To this day, wise words from a therapist help get through the darkest times.

Connor said, “The most important thing is keeping our kids alive. Keeping them safe. And pay attention to your kids. Talk with them.”

The intersection is slated to reopen to traffic sometime this fall.

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