Truck Accident

Chicago truck driver faces charges, lawsuit from fatal trucking accident

June 13, 2009 | By Dave Abels

A Chicago truck driving faces vehicular homicide charges and a wrongful death lawsuit for a Pennsylvania trucking accident that killed a woman last fall. The family is also suing Vidov Trucking of Indiana.

Pennsylvania state police charged the truck driver this week. Authorities say his container truck was too high when it struck an overpass, knocking the container onto an SUV and killing the driver, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The Morning Call reports the driver was charged with homicide by vehicle and related offenses and the family of the victim, Michelle LaMaze, has filed a civil lawsuit seeking damages.

Authorities report the container the trucker was hauling exceeded the 13 feet 6 inch height limit when it struck the overpass.

The truck driver reportedly told police that he did not measure the container, did not know how high it was and could not say how fast he was traveling at the time of impact. Police also report that the container was not properly fastened to the semi and that the truck was not permitted for an oversize load, which would have required it to be re-routed to avoid low overpasses.

He also told police he could not detail his route or report his destination because he was relying upon a GPS system, according to the Morning Call.
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Chicago Car Crash On Dan Ryan Kills 1

May 8, 2009 | By Dave Abels

In Chicago, Illinois a driver was killed in a three vehicle accident on the Dan Ryan Expressway early Friday morning. The accident happened in the southbound lanes around 4:20 a.m. The motorist killed was driving a minivan that hit a semi truck after the truck slammed on its brakes to avoid an accident. The trucker braked because a car in front of the truck had just hit the left side retaining wall and came to a complete stop in the center lane.

The Illinois State Police responded to the accident and are handling the investigation. Three lanes were initially closed after the accident, and two lanes remained closed for the morning rush hour. No tickets were reportedly issued.

If the family of the minivan driver retains a Chicago Car Accident Lawyer, they would likely pursue a claim against the driver in front that lost control and came to a stop on the expressway. While liability could be disputed, an insurance carrier would likely pay on the claim due to the severity of the accident. A claim against the truck driver’s insurance carrier would be investigated as well.

Orland Park, Illinois Man Killed In Truck vs. Car Accident

April 26, 2009 | By Dave Abels

An elderly man from the southern Chicago suburb of Orland Park has been killed in a motor vehicle accident, according to the Southtown Star. It is alleged that his car ran a red light and was hit by a commercial truck in the intersection.

The car crash happened at 80th Ave. and Wheeler Drive on Thursday at around 3:45 pm when a southbound box truck slammed into a Toyota Corolla. The driver, Walter Zyck, 91 was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn where he later passed away from his injuries.

His car incurred serious damage and emergency workers had to extricate him from the vehicle. The Orland Park Police Department is investigating the accident and they are reportedly asking anyone who witnessed the occurrance to call (708) 349-4111.

Weather Blamed for Chicago Women’s Accident with Semi Truck

December 21, 2008 | By Dave Abels

Two older women from Chicago were killed and two others injured in an accident that authorities attribute to snowy conditions on the road. According to the Elgin Courier-News, the women were driving south when their car slid on the pavement and landed in the path of northbound traffic, where it was hit by a semi truck. The truck driver was not injured, but two of the women in the car, both 70, were killed. Two others were hospitalized in critical or serious condition in Rockford.

Unfortunately, this sort of tragedy is a common outcome of an accident between an ordinary passenger car and a large truck (a semi, tractor-trailer or 18-wheeler). Trucks are many times the size and weight of a passenger vehicle. In an accident, simple physics means their greater weight brings greater force to the collision. Their bumpers also tend to be so much higher that cars’ bumpers can’t do their job — absorbing some of the shock of the impact. Rather, trucks’ bumpers are very frequently at the same level as the torsos, necks or heads of the people in the cars.

This can be disastrous for the occupants of the smaller vehicle, who are frequently killed or very seriously injured in accidents with trucks. According to the federal Department of Transportation, only 6% of fatalities in multi-vehicle trucking accidents in 2007 were the deaths of people inside the trucks. That’s true regardless of who was at fault for the accident. Statistically, truck drivers are much safer drivers than average, but when they do make mistakes, the consequences for the victims are very serious.