Dead girl billed over fatal car crash

A Lindsay X-LITE barrier of the type that killed Hannah Eimers (Lindsay/Barrier Systems Inc)
A Lindsay X-LITE barrier of the type that killed Hannah Eimers (Lindsay/Barrier Systems Inc)

A 17-year-old girl who was fatally impaled by a highway guardrail has been asked to pay for its replacement.

Tennessee teen Hannah Eimers crashed her father's car on November 1, with her Volvo sliding sideways and hitting the end of the guardrail with the driver's side door, reports local paper The Tennessean.

She was hit in the head and chest, the impact pushing her into the back seat and killing her instantly.

Four months later, her family received a bill addressed to their deceased loved one.

"Your immediate attention is required," the bill read.

"There was damage to state property. This is to serve as a claim to cover the cost of repairing the damaged property."

The US$2970 was made up of material labour costs, as well as mileage for the contractors to get to and from the accident site on Interstate 75.

The bill sent to the dead teenager (Steven Eimers/supplied)
The bill sent to the dead teenager (Steven Eimers/supplied)

Hannah's father Steven Eimers told The Tennessean he was "flabbergasted" at the state's audacity.

"What bothers me is that they're playing Russian Roulette with people's lives. They know these devices do not perform at high speeds and in situations like my daughter's accident, but they leave them in place."

The guardrail which killed her was of a type removed from the state's approved products list just a week before the accident.

The Tennessee Department of Transport apologised for the error, saying the bill was meant to go to the family's insurance company.

Newshub.