Shirley Samuelson was the lone female on WYDOT’s District 3 maintenance crew. Her son settled a federal lawsuit with a street sweeper manufacturer after she was killed in an accident in August 2020 while operating the sweeper.
Shirley Samuelson was the lone female on WYDOT’s District 3 maintenance crew. Her son settled a federal lawsuit with a street sweeper manufacturer after she was killed in an accident in August 2020 while operating the sweeper.
A settlement has been reached in the case of a WYDOT employee killed by a street sweeper, court records show.
Shirley Samuelson died in August 2020 when a street sweeper she had just parked on Highway 22 in Teton County rolled downhill and ran her over. She was 62, and the only female member of WYDOT’s maintenance crew in the southwest Wyoming district.
Federal court filings state that Samuelson’s son, Gregory Horrocks, reached a settlement in late February with the sweeper’s manufacturer, Kansas-based SB Manufacturing, Inc. Details are unknown.
“This was a horrible tragedy that was preventable. Many of our questions were answered. Settlement of this litigation is in the best interests of all the parties and will help bring closure to Shirley’s family,” said the family’s attorney, Jack Edwards, in an email. “We hope that through this process, all Wyoming workers will benefit from stronger safety measures and safer machines.”
Horrocks brought the wrongful death suit in April 2021, alleging an equipment failure led to his mother’s death.
According to the complaint, Samuelson parked the sweeper on a Teton Pass turnout and pulled the parking brake. She then turned off the engine and got out to talk to a coworker. Court filings state that while her back was turned, the sweeper began rolling downhill and ran her over before crossing both lanes of the highway and stopping at a cliff face on the other side. The suit alleged the 2009 broom sweeper made by Superior Broom had defects that caused it to fail from normal use.
A crash report states that the road and weather were clear, and lists the vehicle’s brakes as the cause.
According to the suit, Samuelson’s family suffered a loss of support and income and other, less quantifiable losses including companionship, comfort and advice.
In a response filed in May, the sweeper’s manufacturer denied nearly every allegation made against it. It also said Horrocks did not allege “any action taken by [the manufacturer] that was the direct or indirect cause of [Samuelson’s] injury,” according to court filings.
SB’s answer alleged Samuelson was using the sweeper for an “unintended or unforeseeable purpose” or in a “obviously dangerous and/or unintended manner.” According to the manufacturer, the driver should have been aware of the “open and obvious risk” that caused the accident, and that it stopped being liable when the sweeper was purchased.
Requests for comment were not returned by the company’s attorneys on Monday.
An oral notice of the dismissal was filed in U.S. District Court on Feb. 24. A dismissal must be filed by March 28, according to the case docket.
Managing Editor Rebecca Huntington has worked for newspapers across the West. She hosts a rescue podcast, The Fine Line. Her family minivan doubles as her not-so-high-tech recording studio.
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