An appellate court has determined the state is responsible for the death of a former East Syracuse mayor.

Jason Rhoades, 28, was killed in an accident in 2004 when his car slid into a small snowbank on I-81 and was pushed over the edge, plunging to the roadway below. The court of claims deemed the state was not liable in 2010, but the Supreme Court Appellate Courts in Rochester reversed that decision in rulings made public Tuesday.

The suit claims the state is responsible for Rhoades’ death because the snow was packed to the guardrails, leaving the barriers ineffective. Another person died in the same manner less than 36 hours prior.

The appellate court found the state to be responsible, as “vaulting accidents are rare.”