By KENNETH LIPP/YachatsNews
A Yachats resident is suing an Otis excavation company for $2.5 million after she slid on ice into its parked trailer along U.S. Highway 101 near Wakonda Beach last year, piercing her vehicle “like a spear” with the trailer’s pointed end and amputating three of her fingers.
According to a civil complaint filed in Lincoln County Circuit Court last week, Clare Paul was driving to her job as assistant city engineer in Newport at about 6 a.m. Jan. 27, 2021. As she approached Wakonda Beach Road, she hit a patch of black ice, spinning her vehicle across Highway 101 into the west shoulder.
Had the shoulder been unobstructed, the complaint by Eugene attorney Travis Eiva reads, Paul’s Subaru would have “safely slid to a halt in the space allowed.” But the suit claims K.W. Sweitz Trucking and Backhoe, a small Otis excavation company working a job in the area, parked its equipment trailer “inches from the fog line.” Paul’s car spun into the pointed metal hitch frame on the front end, sending it through the driver’s door and window.
A photograph of the car and trailer post-crash included in the complaint shows the trailer resting about 2 feet from the fogline, its wheels just clear of the pavement. Another photo shows the trailer’s angled front end crashed through the driver’s side and into the dashboard at the steering wheel.
According to the complaint, Paul suffered a lacerated spleen, multiple rib fractures, a collapsed lung and amputation of all but the thumb and index finger on her left hand. An image of her bloodied hand missing three fingers is included in the complaint.
Paul’s suit seeks $500,000 for surgeries, rehabilitation, assistive devices and other medical treatment resulting from the accident. It also asks for $2 million for Paul’s emotional pain and emotional distress, interference with normal activities and loss of enjoyment of life.
The complaint argues the excavation company and its owner, Kerry Sweitz, were negligent for parking the equipment on the shoulder with no permit, warning cones or measures to absorb impact.
Sweitz and his wife, Laura, told YachatsNews Tuesday they were aware of the 2021 collision but shocked to hear of the lawsuit. Their trailer was parked well clear of the roadway, they said.
Laura Sweitz said the excavation company is a sole-proprietor, family-run business of more than 30 years, and a $2.5 million judgment would be catastrophic. Kerry Sweitz said it would also set a dangerous precedent, making anyone who parks on a shoulder liable if struck.
Oregon Department of Transportation District 4 manager Brian Morey said ODOT only requires an encroachment permit for activity that will block or use travel lanes or unsafely obstruct the roadside. According to ODOT, there were eight permits issued for work in the Wakonda Beach area during that January time period, but none for parking along the highway, and K.W. Sweitz was not among the permitted entities..
“Anyone is welcome to park along our highways, as long as they do so safely,” Morey said. That might include use of flags, flares or cones to warn other motorists, he said.
No judge has been assigned or hearings scheduled in the lawsuit.
- Kenneth Lipp is YachatsNews’ full-time reporter and can be reached at KenLipp@YachatsNews.com
Any trailer/vehicle parked alongside any roadside must be a safe distance — two feet or four feet is not a safe distance. Cones, flags, or flashing lights especially in the dark should be visible at least 100 to 200 feet away from said parked vehicle. Safety first. Always.