Deadly Illinois motorcycle accident – witnesses say state trooper at fault — Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Blog

A Chicago-area motorcycle crash that occurred on Friday night on Interstate 88 has claimed the life of an Aurora resident, according to the Beacon News. A witness to the accident is saying that an Illinois state trooper caused the accident.

The victim, age 29, was riding to Chicago with two friends who were on two separate motorcycles. According to state police, around 9:15 PM in the area of Winfield Road, one of the bikers swerved in front of the other, and that led to the second biker taking evasive action.

But a friend of the motorcyclist killed is stating that a state trooper was the main factor in causing the accident. The witness is saying that the motorcyclists were cut off by a police car. The witness was reportedly riding around 150 feet behind the accident.

He says that, for reasons unknown, the police vehicle passed motorcycle riders, and then hit the brakes. This caused the victim to swerve, but he was unable to complete the maneuver, and was ejected off of his bike. He might have then been hit by a passing truck. The rider next to him was able to pull his cycle over to the side of the interstate.

Witnesses also said that the state police car did not have lights or sirens activated. The other bikers did not know the vehicle was a police car until it passed them by.

A spokesperson for the Illinois State Police is stating that the accident is still under investigation and that no further information is being released yet. They are also saying it is also unknown yet if drugs or alcohol played a role in the accident. However, the victim’s friends and stated that he had not been drinking and that he was wearing a motorcycle helmet.

To make matters worse, it is being alleged that when the victim’s wife arrived at the scene, she started to run towards the victim and was then tackled by police, causing minor injuries.

It is further being reported that friends and family of the deceased have called in a branch of the NAACP to help fully investigate the occurrence. Other than the fact that the victim was African-American, there is no other reason given as to why the NAACP was contacted, and no other indication that race played a role in the state trooper’s alleged actions. Further, it was nighttime and the victim was wearing a helmet, so it is unclear as to how the state trooper would have known the race of the motorcyclist.

It has not been reported if a Chicago motorcycle accident lawyer is involved in the case yet or if a civil lawsuit has been filed.

The last several days have been particularly dangerous for motorcyclists in the Chicago area. The Chicago Sun-Times reporting that a motorcyclist was injured early Tuesday morning on the south side after being involved in a head-on collision with a marked Chicago police car in the 8500 block of S. Chicago Ave.

It has not been reported as to how the vehicles collided or if any citations are being issued.

The motorcycle rider was taken to Northwestern Hospital with multiple fractures. The officer in the police car was also injured, and was taken to Christ Hospital in Oak lawn. His injuries are reportedly non-life-threatening.

In yet another deadly Illinois motorcycle crash, the Chicago Tribune is reporting that a rider from Calumet city was killed in an accident in Kankakee County. The motorcyclist died when he struck the rear of a stopped vehicle. A passenger on the bike was also injured, but not seriously.

The biker fatally injured was riding a Harley-Davidson eastbound on Illinois Route 17 around 3:45 PM on Monday in unincorporated Kankakee. At that time the cyclist it the back of a 2006 Honda that stopped for a school bus. The collision ejected the victim and his passenger off the bike. The crash was strong enough to knock the Honda into another vehicle stopped in front of it.

The motorcyclist was taken to Riverside Medical Center and pronounced dead a short time later. No one else was reportedly injured in the incident. The motorcycle rider was age 54, and the Illinois State Police is handling the investigation.