A boy on his bike died at a Pierce County crosswalk. Is Washington state to blame?
The parents and estate of a 13-year-old boy who died last year after he was struck in a Parkland crosswalk have sued the state and the vehicle’s driver for negligence and wrongful death, court records show.
Michael Weilert was killed on July 19, 2022, as he attempted to cross State Route 7, or Pacific Avenue, on a bicycle at 134th Street near his home. The state-maintained road goes two lanes in each direction. After a pickup yielded in the northbound curbside lane as Weilert crossed, the boy was hit by a jeep traveling in the northbound left lane.
Weilert, who was with a friend, had pressed a button to activate a flashing beacon intended to alert motorists that the crosswalk was being used. A light set up at a sidewalk on the road’s east side flashed as designed. But a beacon intended to alert non-curbside drivers, located on an island in the middle of the road, did not flash, according to the lawsuit.
Without a flashing beacon to warn the jeep’s driver, Rebeca Magdaleno, of a pedestrian or bicyclist ahead — and with Magdaleno’s view of Weilert obstructed by the truck — she struck Weilert with the front-right corner of the jeep, throwing him across the intersection, the suit said.
The suit, which was filed Monday in Pierce County Superior Court, claimed that the Washington State Department of Transportation knew that the warning device — known as a rectangular rapid flashing beacon — was not functioning on the island several weeks before the incident but failed to take action.
“There’s absolutely no excuse for WSDOT not to be aware of the fact that they had known for almost two months that that light was out,” attorney Evan Bariault, who is representing Weilert’s parents and estate, told The News Tribune.
WSDOT declined to comment on the allegations.
“Our thoughts are with the Weilert family,” WSDOT spokesperson Kris Abrudan said in an email. “WSDOT does not comment on active litigation.”
Magdaleno, who was not charged with a crime, could not be reached for comment. An email sent to an address that public records showed belonged to her was not returned by deadline.
Although lawyers were continuing to investigate her role, Bariault said drivers are obligated to slow down if they see others do the same. The lawsuit accused her of failing to yield. Police who interviewed Magdaleno at the scene determined that she was neither distracted nor impaired, the suit noted.
State accused of failing to act
Weilert’s death reverberated throughout the community, spurring calls for greater transportation safety. Weilert’s mother, Amber — a plaintiff in the lawsuit — committed to becoming a fierce advocate for the cause. In the immediate aftermath, loved ones gathered to remember the boy.
A WSDOT spokesperson, shortly after the crash, told news outlet KIRO 7 that officials had noticed on around July 15, 2022, that the light in question was missing a solar panel, battery controller and cabinet. The department had ordered those parts but they took four weeks to deliver, the spokesperson said.
Records obtained by Bariault’s law firm, Seattle-based Frey Buck, called into question when state transportation officials became aware of the inoperative beacon.
WSDOT maintenance reports showed that the state knew as early as May 31, 2022, that the beacon had missing parts and wasn’t working, according to the plaintiffs’ lawyers. Partial state documents, dated weeks before the crash, were attached in the legal filing as proof.
“Stand alone solar PED crosswalk flashing becon [sic] hit knocked down,” read one document dated May 31, 2022. “Cleaned up base an [sic] started fixing sign. Need new solar panel an [sic] batteries.”
In the other, dated June 7, 2022, it’s noted that someone must have stolen a stainless “j-box” — a junction box is used to enclose electrical connections — mounted on the sign. The sign was stood back up without a solar panel.
“Need to get with sign shop on parts,” the document read.
An email between WSDOT personnel from October 2022, cited in the lawsuit, indicated that needed parts were ordered on July 18, 2022 — only a day before Weilert was struck.
Bariault told The News Tribune that he hadn’t seen any documentation in public records provided by the state that confirmed when parts were ordered. He did receive a document from the day Weilert died that showed an order-supply company acknowledging an order, which he said caused him to question if parts weren’t ordered until after the crash.
WSDOT is accused in the lawsuit of not fixing the light and failing to alert motorists that it wasn’t working, including by not putting up any warning signs.
“Through its inaction, the State effectively lured Michael Weilert into a trap that resulted in his death,” the suit said.
The legal filing also suggested that WSDOT should have been aware of and addressed a broader issue.
In June 2018, flashing beacons were approved for installation at 11 crosswalks along State Route 7 due to safety concerns, but the beacons were often damaged or stolen, according to the lawsuit. The suit said the lights were missing or not working at five crosswalks at the time of the crash.
“That is a massive problem,” Bariault said.
The lawsuit, which also claimed negligent infliction of emotional distress, is seeking unspecified damages to be determined at trial and to recoup legal fees.
Bariault said that Weilert’s death underscored the need for traffic-safety improvements on top of what local governments have already invested in, adding that vehicle convenience has overshadowed pedestrian safety for far too long.
“That needs to stop,” he said.
