Lodi Woman Receives $210K Settlement After Crash with ODOT Salt Pile
A Lodi woman has been awarded a $210,000 settlement after claiming she crashed her vehicle into a large pile of salt dumped on the road by an Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) worker.
The accident occurred in January 2020 while the woman was driving on U.S. Route 224 in Westfield Township. She struck a significant pile of salt in her lane, resulting in her losing control and rolling over.
Investigations revealed that an ODOT driver was spreading salt on Route 224 and had set his truck to dispense 40 pounds of salt per mile. However, while driving through Westfield Township, the truck dumped a substantial amount of salt—estimated to be between two to three tons—in a single location.
The woman was hospitalized and treated for multiple back injuries following the crash. She filed a lawsuit against the state, initially seeking $380,442. ODOT contended that the woman was driving at an “unreasonable speed” for the road conditions and claimed that had she been driving at a safer speed, she could have avoided hitting any “discernable objects on the roadway.”
Evidence from the scene included a photograph taken by a trooper showing a quarter embedded in the salt, with the bottom half of the coin completely covered. Additionally, a report from a consulting firm specializing in snow plowing accidents indicated that the ODOT driver’s improper operation of the equipment contributed to the crash.
Both ODOT and the victim eventually reached an agreement on the settlement.
