INDOT accused of negligently designing construction zone, leading to fatal crash

The estate of a Nappanee man has accused the Indiana Department of Transportation of failing to maintain a construction zone that was the site of his fatal collision last year.

Missouri-based law firm Keller & Keller filed the lawsuit last week on behalf of the estate of Jerry Lamb, who died in a multi-vehicle collision on U.S. Highway 20 last year. The complaint also names Glen Freel, a passenger who survived the crash with serious injuries, as a plaintiff.

The complaint alleges that INDOT had a duty to safely design, configure and maintain the construction on the highway where Lamb died, but failed to do so.

On July 31, 2025, Lamb was driving a Jeep Liberty westbound on the highway near Mile Marker 93 in Elkhart County when he came upon a construction zone, according to the complaint.

Traffic slowed to a stop, but a semitrailor driver failed to slow or brake in time, colliding full speed into the rear of Lamb’s stopped Jeep.

The impact caused Lamb’s Jeep to move forward into a stopped utility truck, crushing the Jeep.

Lamb was pronounced dead at the scene, and Freel suffered serious personal injuries.

Lamb’s estate says INDOT failed to provide adequate warning signs to alert motorists of the construction zone and the likelihood of stopped or slowed traffic.

The lawsuit also alleges that INDOT designed the construction zone in a manner that created an “unreasonably dangerous condition for travelers.”

Natalie Garrett, the strategic communications director for INDOT, said the department does not comment on pending litigation.

The complaint also names the truck driver and Aelita Inc., an Illinois-based trucking company, as defendants.

The plaintiffs say Aelita failed to properly inspect the semi’s brakes – which were allegedly out of adjustment and had an automatic slack adjuster that failed to compensate for wear.

Aelita did not immediately return The Lawyer’s voicemail.

The case is Jessica Wolff, as Special Administrator of the Estate of Jerry D. Lamb, Deceased, Glen Freel v. Nenad Stankovic, Aelita, Inc., Indiana Department of Transportation, 20D02-2606-CT-000144.