Parents file suit over previous Floyd intersection fatality

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com 

The parents of a man killed two years ago at the Avenue of the Saints intersection in Floyd have filed a wrongful death suit against the state, just one day after another man was killed at the same location.

Thomas and Diane Houdek of Charles City, the parents of Thomas John “T.J.” Houdek, are alleging that the state has been negligent by failing to design a safe intersection, by failing to warn the public of dangerous conditions at the intersection and by failing to provide signage that isn’t confusing and that adequately warns of the dangers at that location, among other claims.

T.J. Houdek was killed July 17, 2016, when his Harley-Davidson motorcycle was struck by a semi at the intersection of Highway 18/27 and Highway 218/Quarry Road.

Another man, Troy Reams, age 39, of Greene, was killed Wednesday morning when the car he was driving struck the rear end of a semi-tractor trailer at that same intersection near the truck stops in Floyd.

The Houdeks had previously filed a wrongful death claim with the Iowa Department of Management in May, seeking damages for the death of their son and hoping to move up construction of an overpass at that intersection, currently scheduled for 2022.

That claim was turned down by the State Appeal Board, as most such claims are, leaving the Houdeks’ next step the filing of a lawsuit in Floyd County District Court, which their attorney did Thursday.

The Houdeks, as administrators of the estate of their son, filed suit against the state and against “various unnamed state employees” of the Iowa Department of Transportation.

In a statement given to the Press Thursday by their attorney, the Houdeks called for “the immediate reduction of speed” at the intersection and the placement of warning signs like the ones the state installed at a similar intersection in Jasper County.

Those Jasper County signs say “INTERSECTION AHEAD / MULTIPLE FATALITIES / USE CAUTION.”

“The speed on Highway 27 should be reduced to 45 miles per hour or lower, and road painting “45” on both east and west bound two lanes, and the painting of solid lines preventing the changing of lanes in either direction on Highway 27 through this intersection to warn the public, before yet another tragedy happens during the increased travel for the Christmas season,” the Houdeks’ statement says.

“No one needs to face a tragedy over this trap and everyone needs to be warned about this dangerous intersection,” they said.

The speed limit on Highway 18/27 through Floyd County is generally 65 mph, but it is reduced to 55 mph before and after the Floyd intersection.

David Skilton of Charles City, their attorney, previously told the Press that the speed limit should be even lower, and the state needs to take steps to tell motorists how dangerous that intersection is and warn them that fatalities have occurred there.

“How is a driver going to know that this is one intersection that you’ve never experienced until it’s too late, unless you are warned?” he said. “It’s an unfortunate situation, but that’s a critical intersection in Floyd County that’s caused a lot of concern and public interest. They’ve had complaints about that intersection for years.”

The lawsuit filed Thursday accuses the Iowa DOT and the state of “failing to provide supervision of a dangerous intersection …, failing to take reasonable precautions and safety measures, under the circumstances, to protect the public from the hazards caused by this intersection; and … failure to warn of the known danger posed by this intersection.”

The suit also claims the Iowa DOT and the state committed gross negligence because “the state knew of the defects in its design, the danger to the public” and “effectively, created a trap to the public.”

The suit, which demands a jury trial, asks for “amount equal to the estate’s actual damages in full, plus interest as provided for by law and for the costs of this action.” No specific dollar amount is listed.

The intersection, which currently crosses lanes at grade and is controlled by stop signs on the side roads, is scheduled for an $18 million elevated overpass beginning with right-of-way purchase in 2021 and construction in 2022.