The father of a 17-year-old girl killed in a crash involving a controversial guard rail is asking U.S. Rep. Diane Black to raise the issue with President Donald Trump.
In November 2016, Hannah Eimers was driving northbound on Interstate 75 in McMinn County when her car left the road, striking a Lindsay X-Lite terminal. Instead of deflecting her vehicle, the rail impaled her car. She died instantly.
Her father, Stephen Eimers, has been fighting to have X-Lites removed from roads nationwide.
Eimers shared a Jan. 2 letter with 10News that he sent to Black, R-Tenn., asking her to speak on the issue during the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Convention in Nashville on Jan. 8. President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend the event.
“Representative Black, will you please be our advocate?” wrote Eimers. “The level of failure for the X-Lite guardrail end treatment is horrific and unprecedented. TDOT chose to act but other State DOT's are still looking to the United States Federal Highway Administration for guidance. FHWA has thus far refused to act on this overwhelming evidence.”
Eimers sent a picture of a billboard he says is located outside Black's Cookeville office urging her to "Please Ask Trump About The X-Lite & FHWA."
10News reached out to Black's office for comment, but has not yet heard back.
The Federal Highway Administration said in May that an outside expert reviewed the X-Lite's crash data, and found it met the criteria in place at the time.
Eimers previously testified against X-Lites before the Tennessee House Transportation Committee.
Tennessee agreed to remove approximately 1,900 of the devices by June 30, 2018. More than 800 of them have been removed as of Friday, and 1,096 remain on the roads, according to a TDOT spokesperson.
The state removed the X-Lite from its list of approved devices one week before Hannah's death.
Eimers hopes the FHWA will revoke the X-Lite's letter of approval, which allows states that install a device to receive reimbursement from the federal government.
Lindsay Transportation Solutions has repeatedly denied any safety issues with the X-Lite.
The company re-sent a statement from October in response to Eimers' letter.
“Lindsay Transportation Solutions' top priority is to provide solutions that reduce the number and severity of injuries sustained in automobile accidents," the company wrote.
The company noted that the X-Lite passed crash and safety tests according to federal standards, and remains eligible for federal funding.
Eimers is suing Lindsay in McMinn County for physical, mental and financial damages surrounding his daughter's death.