PHOENIX — The Arizona of Department of Transportation has been served two notices of claim, the first step in a lawsuit, totaling $56 million stemming from a deadly guardrail crash on I-17.
Valley teens Jaxson Elliott and Jett Weinstein were driving down I-17 south of Cordes Junction when the car they were in hit an ET-Plus guardrail. The guardrail came through the passenger side door, through the front seat of the car and out the driver’s side door.
Elliott was killed in the crash and Weinstein was seriously injured and lost his right leg.
The precursors to lawsuits show Elliott's mother is seeking $20 million from ADOT while Weinstein and his family are seeking a total of $36 million.
New documents released Friday by the State of Arizona show a third notice of claim filed by Elliott's father, seeking an additional $10 million from ADOT. That brings the total to $66 million sought from the state by the families over the crash.
“I just think about like the second we made contact and me waking up, not knowing what’s going on, trying to grab the handle,” Weinstein told 12News in April.
Attorneys accuse ADOT and the State of Arizona of negligence for leaving the guardrail on the roads. A spokesperson for ADOT said the agency does not comment on litigation.
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“To pierce the car as it did in this instance is precisely what it’s not supposed to do,” James Fucetola, attorney for Weinstein, told 12News in April.
In DPS’ investigation of the crash attached to Weinstein’s notice of claim, investigators say witnesses saw the car Elliott was driving drifting from the left lane into the right and onto the shoulder.
“After about a second of traveling in the right shoulder, (the car’s) brake lights came on. He said (the car) could not get back on the highway. Witness slowed down and saw (the car) start to spin to the left and hit the guardrail,” The trooper describes in the documents.
Elliott died on scene and Weinstein was airlifted to the hospital.
Steve Eimers, an advocate for guardrail safety, told 12News in February following the crash that the guardrails weren’t designed to take those kinds of hits from vehicles.
“Most of our guardrail systems are designed essentially to perform well when hit head-on, just directly head-on,” Eimers said
However, the ET-Plus specifically has a controversial history, as 12News has previously reported.
The attorney for Elliott’s mother describes the guardrail in the litigation as, “A metal highspeed projectile capable of piercing steel doors (like a knife does with butter), brutally devastating all within its path.”
It’s what critics have described as a design flaw in the Trinity Industries ET-Plus guardrail, which has been known for about a decade.
In a statement to 12News about the ET-Plus and the crash involving Weinstein and Elliott, a Trinity Industries spokesperson said they "stand by" the ET-Plus:
"The ET-Plus is the most tested highway safety product of its kind. The Federal Highway Administration continuously approved the product for use and has repeatedly confirmed that the ET-Plus meets all applicable safety performance criteria. Trinity stands by the ET-Plus, but at this time, it would not be appropriate to comment regarding an ongoing crash investigation."
In 2014, the Federal Highway Administration began an investigation into the ET-Plus, ultimately finding it meets “applicable safety criteria.”
During the investigation, ADOT announced that it had removed the ET-Plus from the agency’s approved products list. No additional ET-Plus end terminals have been installed on Arizona roads but 4,184 remain on Arizona’s roads.
ADOT has declined 12News’ interview on the crash and ET-Plus guardrails on Arizona roads.
In a previous written statement, a spokesperson said the department follows Federal Highway Administration and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) guidelines when maintaining state highways and guardrails, which includes replacing them, “when they are struck, when there is a project in that area, or when our employees who travel the highway system everyday notice issues.”
“Continuing to use end terminals that met standards when they were installed and replacing them for reasons noted above follows FHWA and AASHTO standards,” a spokesperson added in the written statement.
In the new Notices of Claim, attorneys said ADOT and the state, “failed to inspect, replace, and/or modify a known defective end terminal and guardrail. This was done knowing that the guardrail and end terminal are tested and rated for speeds no more than 100 km/hr. (62 mph).”
The speed limit at the crash location on I-17 is 75 mph.
“On high speed locations, especially like this impact location. This is a product that we need to pull off the roadside,” Eimers told 12News in February following the crash.
A class action lawsuit against Trinity Industries, the maker of the ET-Plus, was filed in Missouri.
Trinity agreed to a $56 million settlement in 2022 over the suit. Trinity did not admit fault as part of the settlement agreement, however, Trinity did agree to pay to find and replace the ET-Plus guardrail end terminals on Missouri roads.
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