Mission Trails bridge still stalled after runner died
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Max LeNail on the trails and with his parents. Photos: Courtesy of Ben LeNail
When 21-year-old Max LeNail died trying to cross the river in Mission Trails Park in 2021, his parents set about building a bridge in his honor.
The big picture: But today, those bridge plans remain up in the air, stymied by bureaucracy despite them securing a state grant to pay for it.
- And his parents are losing hope that there's a way forward.
Catch up quick: LeNail was a few months away from graduating from Brown University with plans to go to medical school when he died, his father, Ben LeNail, told Axios.
- He was living in San Diego and doing remote college during COVID.
- An avid trail runner, he went to Mission Trails on a stormy day for what was for him a short run up South Fortuna and then down the San Diego River Crossing Trail.
- That trail takes you across the river, which is a trickle of water in the summer, but can be waist-deep after heavy rain.
The city has long had a plan to build a bridge for those rainy months, but to date, nothing has been done.
Threat level: LeNail was five minutes away from the end of his run when it started to hail.
- GPS data from his watch shows he paused on one side of the river, then decided to cross it, Ben LaNail said.
- It's unclear what happened next, but police said at the time he likely slipped and was carried downstream.
- LeNail was found dead further down the river the next day.
Flashback: After his death, his father and his mother, Laurie Yoler, committed to building a bridge over the river.
- They worked on it for five years, raising $1 million from friends and family, and helped secure a $1.5 million state grant that went to the Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation for the project.
Yes, but: It wasn't enough. They ran out of funds conducting the multitude of environmental studies required.
- The state grant was only awarded to cover the construction costs, according to Jennifer Morrissey, Mission Trails Foundation Executive Director.
State of play: The grant funding is still available when the city is ready to take on the bridge project, Morrissey told Axios.
- "We're just awaiting word from the city," she said.
- Councilmember Raul Campillo, who represents the area, has long been pushing for the project.
- He told Axios the project is still working its way through city bureaucracy.
- "I couldn't tell you the exact status of that right now," he said.
Friction point: All of this is incredibly frustrating to Ben LeNail, who thought the bridge would honor his son's life.
- "Here is a project that was universally embraced, a private family decided to do all the work, and we were met with incredible opposition," he said. "This is the state we live in, where when good people want to do good projects, they are met with opposition at best and obstruction at worst."
What's next: LeNail has given up on the project and worries that more people will hurt themselves trying to cross the river.
- "It's an incredibly popular trail, and it's one that people will cross even when they shouldn't," he said. "It's a matter of time before there's some other accident, someone will really hurt themselves or die."