Two women are on a crusade to make it safer on the highway after they were involved in a motorcycle accident in the Express Lanes of I-95.
They spoke exclusively to NBC 6 about their lawsuit against the Florida Department of Transportation and its contractors
They spoke exclusively with NBC 6 Investigator Willard Shepard who is in Miami tonight.
Cynthia Fleishmann had to get her leg amputated after the crash.
She and her friend, Catherine Perez, are calling for some real serious changes instead of minor updates to the Express Lanes.
Both women were riding their motorcycle in the Express Lanes when a Toyota Corolla cut into the Express Lanes from the general purpose lanes. The car hit their motorcycle, injuring both Fleishmann and Perez.
The women say they got a second chance at life.
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“Usually it’s a head injury. Either you die on the spot, there's a head injury or a spinal injury. There is something more than just a missing leg. That's the way I see it. We only lost a leg,” said Perez.
Perez’s lawsuit seeks $15,000 in damages. Attorney Mike Edison represents Perez.
“It sounds like to me, a lack of engineering. It sounds like slap dash. We'll just react to what happens out there and then we'll change it,” argued Edison.
The attorney said there have been more than 12,000 accidents in the Express Lanes over the last three years.
The state did not comment Monday on the legal action but did tell NBC 6 it has installed almost 17,000 new poles on the Express Lanes. Officials said the new poles are stronger and closer together.
Last week, another woman announced a lawsuit against FDOT after she was badly injured in an Express Lanes crash while 29 weeks pregnant.
