JACKSON (WNE) —  A settlement has been reached in the case of a WYDOT employee killed by a street sweeper.

Shirley Samuelson died in August 2020 when a street sweeper she had just parked on Highway 22 in Teton County rolled downhill and ran over her. She was 62, and the only female member of WYDOT’s maintenance crew in the southwest Wyoming district.

Federal court filings state that Samuelson’s son, Gregory Horrocks, reached a settlement in late February with the sweeper’s manufacturer, Kansas-based SB Manufacturing, Inc. Details are unknown.

“This was a horrible tragedy that was preventable. Many of our questions were answered. Settlement of this litigation is in the best interests of all the parties and will help bring closure to Shirley’s family,” said the family’s attorney, Jack Edwards, in an email. “We hope that through this process, all Wyoming workers will benefit from stronger safety measures and safer machines.”

Horrocks brought the wrongful death suit in April 2021, alleging an equipment failure led to his mother’s death.

According to the complaint, Samuelson parked the sweeper on a Teton Pass turnout and pulled the parking brake. She then turned off the engine and got out to talk to a coworker. Court filings state that while her back was turned, the sweeper began rolling downhill and ran over her before crossing both lanes of the highway and stopping at a cliff face on the other side.

The suit alleged the 2009 broom sweeper made by Superior Broom had defects that caused it to fail from normal use.

According to the manufacturer, the driver should have been aware of the “open and obvious risk” that caused the accident, and that it stopped being liable when the sweeper was purchased.