In the Chicago western suburb of Westchester, Illinois a 6 year old boy has been critically injured in an auto accident, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The car the boy was riding in hit a truck on the Eisenhower Expressway on Sunday just after 3:30 p.m.
A truck driver had pulled over to the eastbound highway shoulder, according to the Illinois State Police. The truck had pulled over to seek some type of assistance from an IDOT worker.
A short time later a woman driving a Ford Taurus drove onto the shoulder for reasons unknown and rear-ended the truck. The child was a passenger in the Taurus. The child was in a booster seat in the back.
The Westchester Fire Department transported the boy to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois in critical condition. The trucker, the Taurus driver and the IDOT worker were reportedly not seriously injured.
The relationship between the boy and the Taurus driver has not been reported. It has also not been reported if drugs or alcohol played a role.
Serious injuries to innocent child passengers in car crashes is common in the Chicago area. In this type of case the parents of the child will look to pursue a civil claim against the Ford driver’s auto insurance company. If the Ford driver was the child’s parent, that will not bar the civil claim in the State of Illinois.
There is no word if Chicago car accident lawyers are involved in the case yet. The injury lawyers that work on the case will look to see if there was any negligence on the part of the truck driver. For example, they will attempt to determine if the truck was completely on the shoulder, or was it partially sticking out in the road.
Also see the story at WBBM News Radio.