NC DOT to Study State Bridges Following Second Fatal Fall
The North Carolina Department of Transportation is examining some 17,000 bridges to determine if safety measures can be taken to prevent more fatal falls. On Friday, 33-year-old Carroll Lee Eames fell to his death while helping the car crash victims of a multi-vehicle wreck on the Interestate-440 bridge on the Outer Beltline.
Police say Eames fell through the gap between two bridges as he jumped over a concrete barrier to avoid being hit by an oncoming vehicle. Unfortunately, a 30-foot drop to Crabtree Creek awaited him on the other side of the barrier and Eames died from injuries he sustained during the fall accident.
In October 2005, 26-year-old Todd Fletcher died when he fell off the Inner Beltline Bridge while also helping North Carolina car accident victims. Fletcher’s father, Done Fletcher, filed a North Carolina wrongful death claim over the tragic accident.
According to Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker, the NDCOT did put up a fence to prevent people from going over the edge on the Inner Beltline side, but there is no such barrier on the Outer Beltline side where Eames’s North Carolina fall accident happened. The opening that separates the two bridges is about five feet.
Eames’s father, Caroll Eames Sr., is quoted in the NewsObserver.com as saying that he feels that the state “took my son’s life away.” Eames Sr. says that the state must have known that area was a safety hazard.
Luis Jesus Coyt, a passenger in one of the vehicles involved in the North Carolina car crash that Eames Jr. was assisting with also fell off the Outer Beltline bridge. He sustained minor injuries.
Currently, the NCDOT lacks guidelines requiring that all bridges have standard protective rails. In several instances, fences were added to certain bridges after pedestrians had already fallen.
North Carolina Premises Liability
Property owners and managers can be held liable for North Carolina premises liability if a hazard on a premise contributed to causing personal injury or wrongful death and that danger could have or should have been remedied.
Accident spurs state to study bridges, NewsObserver.com, December 1, 2009
Good Samaritan falls from I-440 bridge, dies, CharlotteObserver, November 28, 2009
NC DOT begins bridge study after fatal plunge, WECT, December 1, 2009
Related Web Resources:
North Carolina Department of Transportation
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