PORTLAND, Ore. -- Portland City Commissioner Amanda Fritz filed a $9.5 million wrongful death lawsuit against the driver of a pickup that struck her husband's car last September.
The pickup collided with a tanker trailer on Interstate 5 in Salem. It then crossed the grass median into the southbound lane, slamming into Steven Fritz's car.
Fritz died at the scene and the passenger with whom he carpooled to work, Cary Fairchild, died 10 days later.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday in Multnomah County alleges the pickup driver was traveling too fast in heavy rain.
The lawsuit doesn't include the Oregon Department of Transportation as a defendant, but notes the lack of a strong barrier between northbound and southbound traffic.
The Oregon Legislature fast-tracked safety improvements in the area within a month of Fritz's death.
The Fritz-Fairchild Act, which requires cable barriers between opposing traffic lanes on interstate highways, was signed into law on June 4.
