Cutt, Kendell & Olson is proud and honored to represent our client Ana Quorp in her pursuit to make Utah roads safer for the public. Ana was severely injured in a car crash on March 18, 2018, at 4 a.m. as she was traveling to work on I-80 westbound.
At the time of the crash, Ana was operating her Yukon well below the posted speed limit when she unexpectedly encountered black ice just prior to the Redwood Road exit. Ana slid to the right, striking the concrete “jersey” barricades which are intentionally designed to deflect vehicles back onto the roadway. Rather than keeping her on the roadway as intended, the concrete barricades broke free, with several of them tumbling down the 20+ foot embankment. The vehicle rolled many times down the embankment, crashing through a chain link fence at the bottom, leaving Ana unconscious and suspended upside down in the vehicle. Ana is grateful to the heroic Union Pacific train conductor who miraculously rescued her just before the vehicle burst into flames. Though she was rescued, the effects of Ana’s serious injuries will continue indefinitely into the future.
Initial investigations have shown various problems with the anchoring systems that were necessary to keep the barricades in compliance with national and state standards and regulations. These failures can result from a lack of servicing, inspection and maintenance or from improper installation and design. In Ana’s case, those failures had catastrophic results.
The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) has denied responsibility for these failures, prompting the following statement from CKO attorney, Nathan Morris:
Millions of people drive on Utah’s roadways annually, and we are all required by our State to obey the law in order to keep ourselves and others safe. When drivers make a mistake, they are held accountable by the court system. We require the same accountability from UDOT when they fail to accept responsibility for their actions and when they have not followed the rules and requirements that help keep our public roads safe.
The case against UDOT is currently in the beginning phases of discovery, which is the process of learning additional facts about the collision, UDOT’s actions, and Ana’s injuries. If anyone has relevant information about this case, our attorneys invite them to come forward and share their story at this time.
Contact Cutt, Kendell & Olson today at (801) 901-3470. We offer free consultations.