Portland City Commissioner Amanda Fritz filed a $9.5 million wrongful death lawsuit Wednesday against a driver who lost control of his pickup truck, crossed a grassy median of Interstate 5 and slammed into the Nissan Sentra driven by Fritz's husband, killing him.

The lawsuit -- filed on behalf of the estate of Steve Fritz -- alleges that pickup driver Michael Lippmann was driving too fast in heavy rains northbound on I-5 near Salem on Sept. 24, 2014. The suit lists Lippmann and Carson Oil Co. as defendants.

The suit states that just before the crash, Lippmann had passed a Carson Oil Co. truck that sprayed water onto his pickup. That, combined with standing water on the road, caused Lippmann's pickup to fishtail, its right rear bumper to collide with the oil truck and the impact to send Lippmann's pickup into the median and launch it over a grassy berm, according to the suit.

Steve Fritz, 54, was driving southbound in the 1993 Nissan Sentra and died upon impact at about 7:50 a.m. His passenger and longtime friend, Cary Fairchild, 64, was critically injured and died 10 days later at Salem Hospital. The pair had been heading to work at the Oregon State Hospital, where Steve Fritz was a psychiatrist and Fairchild was a mental-health specialist.

"There was no concrete or cable divider between the northbound and southbound traffic along this stretch of Interstate 5; instead, there was simply a grassy berm," states the suit.

An investigation by The Oregonian/OregonLive in October 2014 found that the Oregon Department of Transportation had delayed the installation of a median cable barrier on that 5-mile stretch of freeway despite public recognition of the need for it dating back to 1996.

The Fritz wrongful death suit, however, does not list Oregon Department of Transportation as a defendant. Fairchild's estate also filed a lawsuit Wednesday -- listing Lippmann, Carson Oil Co. and the Oregon Department of Transportation as defendants. That suit seeks $6 million.

Days after Fairchild's death, attorneys for her estate sent the state a notice of its intention to sue. The Fairchild estate's suit faults the Department of Transportation for allegedly failing to take action to prevent standing water and hydroplaning on the freeway -- and for failing to install cable barriers.

"Prior to the collision, Defendant ODOT had done an internal study of the effectiveness of cable barriers in reducing fatal collisions on the stretches of Interstate 5 where they had been installed," states the Fairchild suit. "The study found that the cable barriers were completely effective in reducing fatality rates to zero."

In April, the state finished installing median barriers along the stretch of road where Steven Fritz and Cary Fairchild were struck, said Tom Fuller, a spokesman for the Department of Transportation. Fuller declined comment Thursday on the delays in installing the median barrier or the Fairchild lawsuit.

Both the Fritz and Fairchild lawsuits -- in addition to faulting Lippmann for allegedly driving dangerously -- allege that the driver of the Carson Oil truck -- Ryan Wilson -- breached his duty to others on the road by driving too fast for conditions. The suits state that Lippmann had been driving in the far left lane and that Wilson had been driving in the center lane when Wilson tried to pass slower moving vehicles in the right lane.

"Mr. Wilson breached that duty by driving at a speed that was excessive under the circumstances then and there existing, by failing to stay in the right lane pursuant to ORS 811.325 and, instead, attempting to pass other vehicles in a heavy downpour and poor visibility, and by driving in such as manner as to create excessive splash and spray on vehicles around him," the suits state, with identical language.

Lippmann couldn't be reached immediately for comment for this story.

A representative from Carson Oil Co. said the company couldn't comment on pending litigation. However, the company offered this statement Thursday: "Carson is saddened by the loss of life caused by the accident that occurred last September and we feel for friends and family of the victims."

Amanda Fritz couldn't be reached for immediate comment for this story.

Amanda Fritz is representing the beneficiaries of her husband's estate. According to Steve Fritz's obituary, he was survived by his wife, three children, his parents and two brothers.

The Fritz lawsuit seeks $9.5 million for Steve Fritz's pain and suffering just before death; the loss of his income, services and support; his burial and memorial expenses; and his family's loss of society, companionship and comfort.

Earlier this month, Governor Kate Brown signed a bill -- effective January 2016 -- that will give ODOT six years to finish erecting median barriers along 100 miles of highway susceptible to fatal crossover crashes.

Portland attorney Michael Wise is representing both the Fritz and Fairchild estates. The suits were filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court.

Read the Fritz lawsuit here.

Read the Fairchild lawsuit here.

-- Aimee Green

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