A $550,000 settlement was recently reached in a lawsuit involving a woman who was killed in car accident in New Mexico.
The victim’s family filed the suit against the state of New Mexico claiming they were responsible for her death seeing as her vehicle slid on liquid de-icer that was sprayed on the roads by the state.
Fatal Car Crash
According to reports, Patricia Vigil-Booth, 53, was instantly killed when her car collided with another car.
Booth’s accident was the fourth and final car crash that occurred on the road between Los Alamos and Pojoaque that day.
Family Files Suit on Woman’s Behalf
After the fatal accident, the Booth family filed a suit against the state Department of Transportation.
The lawsuit claimed the agency failed to correct the slick roads and, as a result, put motorists at risk.
"The only good thing that came from the (settlement) is that it's over," stated Patricia’s 26-year-old son, Benjamin Martinez. "We don't have to see it in the newspaper every day."
The state has also agreed to pay $200,000 to Craig Nyland, the driver of the other car that was involved in the accident.
New De-Icer Used
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department claimed the crash was due to a chemical anti-icing solution they were using on the roads known as magnesium chloride.
Following the accident, the Department of Transportation announced that they would discontinue the use of the solution and instead use salt water on the roads.
(Source: Santa Fe New Mexican)
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