PORTLAND — A woman whose leg was amputated when she inadvertently walked in front of a MAX train in Beaverton, Ore., has filed a $24.6 million lawsuit against TriMet.
Andrea “Amy” Laing, who was 23 at the time of the November 2015 accident, also suffered broken ribs and fractures across her face.
In a lawsuit filed last week in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Laing faults TriMet for allegedly failing to install warning gates and flashing lights across the sidewalk that pedestrians use just before they cross the MAX tracks at the Elmonica station on Southwest 170th Avenue.
According to Beaverton police, witnesses said Laing was wearing earbuds, had a hood over her head and appeared distracted as she ran across the tracks when she was struck. Police said witnesses heard the train’s horn as it approached Laing.
J. Randolph Pickett, one of Laing’s Portland attorneys, declined comment. TriMet spokeswoman Angela Murphy also declined comment.
The lawsuit says TriMet has failed to remedy “dangerous conditions” for pedestrians at the crossing and similar crossings across the 31-year-old light-rail system. The spot has crossing gates for cars, including flashing red lights across Southwest 170th Avenue, but no such system exists for pedestrians, the suit says.
Warning bells that ring out 20 to 30 seconds before the train nears the station “inexplicably” stop 10 to 15 seconds out, the suit says.
“At this point, the MAX train is still a significant distance away from the crossing, and at a time which is many seconds before the MAX train arrives at the platform,” the suit states.
Laing was struck about 9:15 a.m. as she was headed toward the platform to board a train to work. The suit says the train operator applied the brakes after striking Laing.
According to a story on OregonLive.com on the day of the collision, Laing was trapped under the train and a paramedic managed to free her. The paramedic applied a tourniquet to the top of her leg, which was severed above the knee.
That immediate aid likely saved Laing’s life, police said.
