Father becomes popular 'Guardrail Guy' advocate on TikTok after daughter's tragic death

SALT LAKE CITY — It's been nearly ten years since Stephen Eimers lost his daughter Hannah in a car accident.

She had veered off the road and hit a guardrail, killing her at the scene. Her friend, however, who was in the passenger seat, walked away without a scratch, Eimers told KSL.

As a nurse and former EMT, this left Eimers with a lot of questions. The answer came down to the guardrail itself.

"I learned the device that had impaled my daughter's car had been banned in Tennessee," Eimers said.

Eimers is now a whistleblower in the states of California and Tennessee working to raise awareness for guardrail safety, calling attention to potentially dangerous guardrails not just in his home, but right here in Utah and across the world. People in Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, China, Ukraine and Africa have sent photos to his TikTok account where he discusses the dangers of improperly maintained guardrails.

So how does Utah figure?

"I saw smaller problems — smaller physically — but just as dangerous," Eimers said, of the state.

Compared to other states in the Mountain West, Utah's number of dangerous guardrails is about as common as any other. In other words, Utah still has a long way to go.

That's why he does what he does. Eimers reflected on his journey over the last ten years.

"So many people are alive today because Hannah is not," he said. "That's a hard thing to accept."

Even ten years later, Eimers said the sacrifice is still not worth it, but he finds comfort in a Jewish proverb he saw when visiting the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C.: "When you save one life, you save the world."

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