The owners of a shrine to former President Donald Trump in Youngstown are not liable for a vehicle crash nearly six years ago that injured two people, a state appeals court has ruled.
The Pennsylvania Superior Court this week affirmed a previous ruling by Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Chris Scherer to dismiss the lawsuit filed by a motorist injured in the October 2016 crash.
Kellie Roadman of Ligonier sued Trump House owner and state Rep. Leslie Rossi, claiming she was negligent and liable in the crash. The lawsuit argued the red, white and blue-painted Trump House — with its 14-foot-tall cutout of the now-former president — distracted motorists and left visitors unable to properly identify a driveway leading to the home along Route 982.
The two-story Trump House, festooned with posters and other displays, had as many as 14,000 visitors a month leading up to the 2016 election, officials estimated.
Rossi and her husband, Michael, own the house, which served as a tourist attraction and campaign information center for Trump’s initial bid for office.
Leslie Rossi, a Republican who was elected to the state Legislature in 2021 to replace state Rep. Mike Reese following his death, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
In the lawsuit, Roadman claimed her vehicle was hit by another car driven by Paula Miller of Hempfield as she slowed down on the two-lane road to turn into a driveway at the Trump House.
“Our review of the foregoing testimony confirms that there is simply no evidence of record to suggest that this accident was caused by some condition present on defendants’ property,” the judges ruled.
Roadman said she sustained leg and ankle fractures, knee injuries, spleen and liver lacerations and other sprains and cuts in the crash. A passenger in Miller’s vehicle claimed to have suffered a broken hip and concussion.
The Trump House still stands as a tribute to the former president, although no visitors were there late Wednesday afternoon.
