Tuscaloosa pays settlement after fatal crash on Rice Mine Loop

Dec. 26--The city of Tuscaloosa has paid $75,000 to the family of a Northridge High School student who was killed in a crash on Rice Mine Loop nearly four years ago.

Ariel Backstrom, 15, was the passenger in a vehicle involved in a head-on collision the morning of Jan. 28, 2016. Her friend, 16, lost control of her 2004 Mazda and struck a Mercedes that was traveling west, under the Woolsey Finnel Bridge.

The impact cause the Mazda to turn cross-ways in the road before it was struck on the passenger side by a Honda Accord. Ariel died from her injuries.

Her estate filed a claim saying the city was at fault for failing to "properly design, construct, repair and maintain the roadway."

The city's insurance company reached a settlement, said Tuscaloosa City Attorney Glenda Webb, for $75,000. The City Council authorized payment of the $2,500 deductible at its meeting last week.

Ariel was a sophomore at Northridge and was a majorette in the marching band. Her classmates remembered her as a friendly and popular student who had dreams of becoming an obstetrician.

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