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Woman Suing FDOT After Express Lanes Crash on I95

Stephanie Blossom is grateful that she and her one-year-old son, Ethan, are alive. That's because a violent crash on I-95 near the Express Lanes, while she was 29 weeks pregnant with Ethan, could have cost them both their lives.

She recalls the frightening moments.

“There was smoke and I was trying to fight my way out of the car,” said Blossom.

She believes the accident could have been prevented if it weren't for the Express Lanes.

“When it’s just so easy for people to cross over, lives are in danger and it's a safety issue,” said Blossom.

About 15 months after the incident the mom has hired attorney David Heffernan.

They have filed a lawsuit claiming the Florida Department of Transportation and its road contractors were negligent when they constructed the Express Lanes, which Heffernan says causes serious driving hazards.

“The barriers that they initially put up were 20 feet, now they’re 10 feet. Now, they’re claiming they put them at five feet. They're not a deterrent,” said Heffernan.

Blossom knows first-hand what happens when a driver doesn't stay in their lane. She was traveling north on I-95 next to the Express Lanes when a vehicle abruptly exited the Express Lanes.

In an effort to avoid hitting the car, Blossom took a hard left and crashed into the retaining wall.

She suffered a shattered calcaneus and 12 to 15 broken bones. Blossom is recovering well but, has some permanent nerve damage.

She lost her job as a former IT manager. She is now a single mother attending school and hoping that he story will bring about change on our highways.

NBC 6 reached out to FDOT for a comment and a representative for the agency said they do not comment on pending litigation.

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