NEW ORLEANS -- A Pearl River man, injured in last month's 40-vehicle fatal accident on I-10, is speaking out about the crash and who he says is to blame.
Roy Gomez claims in a lawsuit filed last week in New Orleans that the pile-up could have been avoided if local and state officials did what they were supposed to do to warn drivers about known hazards on the highway that morning.
His white pick-up truck was caught in the middle of the pile-up. Gomez broke a bone in his foot after crashing into the truck in front of him.
"I was just driving down the road, minding my own business and I seen the fog and I slowed down and before I knew it, I was at a dead stop," said Gomez. "Just that quick."
He is suing the state of Louisiana, city of New Orleans, Allstate Insurance and Pine Island Limited Partnership, the owner of nearby marshland that's been burning for months.
Gomez's attorney Greg Johnson said the crash was a result of a combination of negligent acts by a number of different defendants.
"It was common knowledge and there had been in lawsuits before that the smoke was creating a hazardous condition," said Johnson. "It was making people ill and more important it was obstructing the view of traffic on the interstate."
According to the lawsuit, the state Department of Transportation and Development failed to provide proper lighting and failed to provide proper warnings about the zero visibility conditions on the interstate.
It also claims the city failed to provide proper traffic control and failed to extinguish the marsh fire.
"They could have reduced the speed limit in the area, put extra warnings out, or had extra patrols in the area when there was heavy fog, knowing that the smoke was going to mix with it," said Johnson.
The suit also claims that the land owner allowed the swamp fire to burn and obscure visibility and failed to bring the fire under control after many months.
"I got out of the truck, the first thing I noticed was I smelled the smoke," said Gomez.
That marsh fire continues to burn in New Orleans East. Gomez hopes that his lawsuit and others to follow will convince local and state leaders to finally put out the fire and to do what they need to do to ensure safe travels on the highway.
"They're always saying on the news we want to make New Orleans safe," said Gomez. "That's not safe."
Mayor Mitch Landrieu's office did not want to comment on pending litigation. But, his spokesman said in recent weeks the city has taken steps to address some of the safety issues on that stretch of I-10.
He said the city fixed a series of streetlights in the area, put up new signage and is working to raise the water level in the marsh that continues to burn.
The state DOTD released a statement saying it expects to petition the court to be removed as a defendant in the case.
The statement went on to say, "Items listed in the lawsuit are not under the responsibility of DOTD. For example, under law, DOTD is not responsible for lighting. Lighting falls under local jurisdictions."
