The city of Salem will pay $130,000 in a settlement with a man who alleged in a lawsuit that dangerous road conditions in south Salem caused a collision that killed his daughter.
Sara Schumann, 17, was a passenger in a car when she died in a collision at the intersection of Southeast Mildred Lane and South Liberty Road in August 2020.
Her father, Douglas Schumann, sued the city two years later in Marion County Circuit Court. He alleged that vegetation near the road blocked the views of both drivers involved in the crash, and that the city failed to install signs and street lights that might have prevented the teenager’s death.
Around two years after the crash in September 2022, the city replaced the existing stop signs at the intersection with ones that include flashing LED lights and signs below saying, “Cross traffic does not stop,” according to city spokeswoman Kathy Ursprung.
She said Salem officials also plan to add a traffic signal as properties are developed in the area and the city secures funding.

The Salem City Council voted on Jan.13 to authorize the settlement.
The city will pay $133,600 out of its self-insurance claim fund, which includes $3,600 in mediation costs.
During the legal proceedings, the city added three people to the lawsuit who lived in houses in the Wallace Ridge Estates adjacent to the road, asserting that they may share liability for Schumann’s death because of untrimmed vegetation the city claimed blocked a clear view of the intersection.
Those residents will pay Schumann another $30,000 in the settlement, according to Ursprung.
Besides the city, she said those involved in the lawsuit hadn’t formally signed a settlement agreement as of Monday and may not do so for several weeks. Meantime, she declined to say whether the proposed settlement includes any promises outside of the payment or changes to the intersection, saying the case remains “a pending legal matter.”
“While this was a tragic event, the city admitted no liability as part of the settlement,” Ursprung said in an email. “A settlement is a practical way to control litigation costs even when the city believes it was not at fault.”
Brady Mertz, an attorney representing Schumann’s estate, declined to comment.
In an interview with the Statesman Journal, Douglas Schumann described his daughter as “a kind-hearted, loving, caring person” who dreamed of a career in medicine.
On the day of the crash, Sara Schumann was riding in a Subaru Impreza driven by Tristan Goodwin, then 18.
Goodwin would later say in a deposition that the two had been on a date and were going on a “joyride” at the time. He said he was driving 70 to 80 miles per hour, at least twice the speed limit of 35 miles per hour on Mildred Lane. He ran a stop sign at the intersection.
When asked about his driving conduct, Goodwin said during the deposition that Sara Schumann “told me I could go as fast as I want on these roads.”
“I was just trying to make it a thrill,” he said.
He drove into the path of another vehicle headed south on Liberty Road that struck his car on the passenger side. His car then rolled, traveled across Liberty and into the property of a home on the southwest corner of the intersection, according to the lawsuit.

Goodwin pleaded guilty in August 2021 in Marion County Circuit Court to criminally negligent homicide and two counts of third-degree assault.
He was sentenced to three years in state prison, followed by three years of post-prison supervision. His driver’s license was also permanently revoked.
The lawsuit alleged that Goodwin didn’t slow down, stop or maneuver away from the other vehicle as he approached the intersection because “he did not receive adequate warnings via traffic control devices” and was unable to see the approaching vehicle.
The complaint said if the city had enforced its rules by having property owners maintain their vegetation near the road and “followed through with their duties to cut down vegetation along the roadways,” Goodwin and the other driver wouldn’t have had obstructed views.
It also said if the city had placed correct signage on the roadways – including posting the correct speed, “curve ahead” signs, a stop sign, a “crosswalk ahead” sign and lighting on both sides of Southeast Mildred Lane – Goodwin would’ve “had more warning and been able to change his behavior as he approached the intersection.”
The lawsuit sought up to $800,000 in economic damages and up to $2 million in noneconomic damages.
Before reaching a settlement, attorneys representing the city tried to convince a state judge to drop the lawsuit, arguing there was no evidence that would justify a verdict in favor of Sara Schumann’s estate.
The lawyers said in an October court filing that Goodwin took sole responsibility for the crash.
In a response, attorneys representing Sara Schumann’s estate said Goodwin’s “incomplete and inaccurate memory” called into question his credibility.
Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.
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Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered criminal justice and housing for Salem Reporter since September 2021. As an Oregon native, his award-winning watchdog journalism has traversed the state. He has done reporting for The Oregonian, Eugene Weekly and Malheur Enterprise.