A car crashed through a guardrail that wasn’t properly designed, causing the car to be submerged in the Souadabscook Stream in Hampden and killing two people, a lawsuit said.
Tyler Wheaton, 23, of Hampden, and Christian Broberg, 22, of Winterport, were killed on Nov. 18, 2021, after the car Broberg was driving crashed into a Kia, then went through a guardrail and into Souadabscook Stream near the intersection of Main Road North and Coldbrook Road in Hampden.
Wheaton’s parents, Sharon and Michael Wheaton of Hampden, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court of Maine against T.Y. Lin International on Thursday. The company engineered the guardrail and chose which product went along the stretch where the crash happened. The couple alleges the company was negligent and is asking a judge to award them unspecified damages.
His parents previously sued three bars and a chain restaurant in Bangor, alleging that staff continued serving Broberg, who was the intoxicated driver. That lawsuit is still pending. Broberg had a blood-alcohol level of .30 percent, nearly four times the .08 level to legally operate a vehicle, according to that complaint.
Both Wheaton and Broberg were ejected from the car, police said previously. Wheaton died from drowning.
The guardrail was installed by the Maine Department of Transportation as part of a road project completed shortly before the crash, per the lawsuit. T.Y. Lin did not use the standard of care and failed to “adequately and professionally” design the guardrail, the lawsuit said.
T.Y. Lin denies all the allegations and complied with industry standards and Maine law, according to a response filed Monday. The response said the lawsuit was filed after the statute of limitations expired.
The fatal crash was caused by people the company had no control over and those acts were not committed by T.Y. Lin, the response said.
The correct length and type of guardrail needed for that stretch of road were not specified by T.Y. Lin, according to the lawsuit. The crash happened at an intersection, near a second intersecting road.
However, the lawsuit said the company did not choose a guardrail that worked for the short stretch of road close to the bridge. The guardrail also could not withstand southbound vehicles crashing into it, according to the lawsuit.
Overall, the lawsuit said, the guardrail was not strong enough to withstand a crash.
If the guardrail was designed correctly, the vehicle would not have crashed through it and Wheaton would not have died by drowning, the lawsuit said.
No future court dates are scheduled.
