Lindsay X

Feb 04, 2024

Federal officials are now investigating the company that designed and manufactured a model of guardrail end terminal tied to deaths in several states, including Tennessee.

Lindsay Corporation told its investors in an annual report that three agencies — the Department of Justice's Civil Division; the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York; and the Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General — are investigating whether the company knowingly submitted false claims to the government relating to its X-LITE guardrail end terminal.

Lindsay said it was informed of the investigation through a letter sent in June. The news of the investigation was first reported by NBC Washington on Friday.

The X-LITE, like most guardrails, is constructed of multiple pieces designed to collapse into each other when struck to absorb some of the impact of a crash. But officials have found the X-LITE doesn't always work as intended. In some crashes, the guardrail ends have become separated and skewered vehicles, maiming or killing those inside.

Lindsay has maintained its product is not defective and said it received approval from the Federal Highway Administration.

The X-LITE came under public scrutiny in 2017 after 17-year-old Hannah Eimers, of Lenoir City, crashed her father's car into one of the guardrails along Interstate 75 in McMinn County. The guardrail end impaled the vehicle and killed her instantly.

After Knox News reported that three more Tennesseans had died in two crashes in which the guardrails speared their vehicles, the Tennessee Department of Transportation said it would take the unprecedented step of spending millions to remove all X-LITEs from state roads. Former TDOT Commissioner John Schroer then wrote a letter to the Federal Highway Administration, saying Lindsay couldn't resolve unclear installation instructions and that the guardrails had malfunctioned in crashes.

Hannah Eimers' father, Steven Eimers, launched his own investigation into the X-LITE, traveling to meet with lawmakers, speaking to transportation officials and finding additional crashes involving the guardrails. Media outlets across the country raised questions about the use of the product. Families of victims filed lawsuits against Lindsay. And many states stopped using the guardrails or removed them from roads altogether.

The Federal Highway Administration never rescinded its letter of approval for the X-LITE, which allows states that use the product to receive federal funds.

Although no new X-LITEs have been installed since a stricter set of crash testing standards went into effect last year, states are not required to remove them from roads.

Reach Travis Dorman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @travdorman.