Father of teen killed in car crash while on date sues Salem for $2.8 million
The father of a teen killed in a car crash is suing the city of Salem for $2.8 million for allegedly causing her death by failing to post proper speed signs, street lighting and signs warning of a stop sign at the intersection where she died.
Sara Schumann, 17, was on a date with Tristan Goodwin the night of Aug. 7, 2020, when he sped through a stop sign at Liberty Road S. and Mildred Lane SE. His Subaru Impreza crashed into an oncoming Saturn Ion.
Schumann, who lived minutes away with her family in South Salem, died at the scene.
One year after the crash, Goodwin, 20, was sentenced to three years in prison and his driver's license was permanently revoked after pleading guilty to criminally negligent homicide and two counts of third-degree assault.
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Goodwin told police he was driving too fast and that he saw the stop sign and knew it was an intersection but didn't see any headlights, so he didn't stop, according to court records.
Mildred Lane had a posted speed limit sign of 35 miles per hour less than a mile from the Liberty Road intersection. Investigators determined Goodwin was driving more than 60 mph through the intersection.
Goodwin wasn't entirely to blame for Schumann's death, according to the lawsuit filed Aug. 4 by Schumann's father, Douglas Schumann.
Through his attorney, Schumann accused the city of negligently causing his daughter's death.
"The City of Salem knew or should have known the roadways and their intersection were unreasonably dangerous for the drivers and passengers of motor vehicles, given the nature and layout of the roadways, insufficient signage for motorists, lack of lighting along the roadways, vegetation that obstructed motorist view of the roadways, and the number of prior vehicle collisions at or near the roadways and the intersection," attorney Brady Mertz said in the complaint filed in Marion County Circuit Court.
The deadly crash in August 2020 was not the first collision at the intersection — it was a known hazard for drivers, Mertz alleged.
If the city had forced nearby property owners to maintain vegetation near the roadways, Goodwin's view of Liberty would not have been obstructed, according to the lawsuit. If speed signs and a warning for the stop sign ahead were posted on Mildred Lane, he might have had time to slow down and stop, the lawsuit said.
In a response to the lawsuit, city officials declined to comment on the allegations due to ongoing litigation.
"The City takes any loss of life very seriously and of course, our deepest sympathies go out to all of those that were involved in that tragedy," city spokesman John Winn said in a statement.
Reporter Whitney Woodworth covers city hall, economic development and business for the Statesman Journal. For questions, comments and news tips, email wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-910-6616 or follow on Twitter @wmwoodworth
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Sara Schumann's dad sues Salem for $2.8M over deadly crash
