Wrongful Death

49-year-old woman killed in deadly Chicago-area truck accident

September 6, 2011 | By Dave Abels

An Illinois truck crash on Illinois 394 has claimed the life of a 49-year-old woman, according to Fox news. The incident occurred on Friday around 6 PM during the evening rush hour.

A semi truck driver traveling north on the highway somehow lost control and drove cross the grassy center median into oncoming southbound traffic. This occurred just as the vehicle passed Glenwood Lansing Road.

After the truck entered the southbound lanes it collided with an SUV, which burst into flames, killing the driver. She has been identified as Mary Lacy. There were no passengers in the SUV. The truck came to a stop in the middle of the southbound lanes. The driver, a Valparaiso Indiana resident, was reportedly not hurt.

The Illinois State Police are handling the investigation and crash reconstruction. They’re trying to figure out what caused the trucker to lose control.

It is being reported that several sand barrels were hit by the truck. The barrels were being used to mark a construction zone. The Fox news story is speculating that the truck driver possibly drifted off the side of the road, struck a guardrail and then lost control, driving across the median and into oncoming traffic.

Once the state police investigation has been completed, they should be able to determine if speed played a role in the crash.

Police are reportedly speaking with the trucker. They will also be checking his log books to see if fatigue may have been a factor, and they will also investigate whether he was on his cell phone or texting. There was supposedly no evidence of drugs or alcohol playing a role.

It has not been reported if a Chicago personal injury law firm is involved in the case yet or if there is a civil lawsuit on file.

After the crash, both sides of the highway had to be shut down for a period of time.

According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, in the year 2010 alone there were 10,343 accidents involving tractor-trailers. Of those truck accidents, 84 resulted in fatalities and 1,836 resulted in injuries.

The State of Illinois further reports that semi truck accidents made up 9.8% of all fatal crashes last year. The number of fatal tractor-trailer crashes increased by over 35% from the year 2009, with the number of fatalities going up by 50%, from 64 in 2009 to 96 in 2010.

Deadly Illinois motorcycle accident – witnesses say state trooper at fault

August 30, 2011 | By Dave Abels

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.

Deadly Chicago area auto accident caused by wrong way driver

August 21, 2011 | By Dave Abels

Two people have died in an Illinois car crash caused by a man who drove his red Porsche the wrong way down an Illinois tollway. The man had allegedly been arrested for DUI twice in the past, the Chicago Tribune is reporting. Police are still trying to figure out why the man was driving recklessly and why there was U.S. currency flying out of the care before the accident.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the collision occurred near Lisle, Illinois on I-88, in between I-355 and Route 53, during the early evening on Saturday. The 43 year-old driver of the Porsche was heading east when he used an emergency vehicle turnaround to enter the westbound lanes, and continued to head east. Soon after, the Porsche collided with a 2004 Toyota Corolla carrying three people, killing two and placing one in critical condition.

Illinois State Police identified the two victims as a 37 year-old woman and her 74 year-old father. A 42 year-old passenger is in critical condition. The family was on their way to a mosque when the crash occurred, and other family members headed to the same destination were close enough to hear the collision and make an attempt to pull the victims from the wreckage.

A rash of Illinois motorcycle accidents leaves 5 riders dead

July 22, 2011 | By Dave Abels

It has been a dangerous week of Chicago area motorcycle crashes as a string of collisions have the claimed the lives of five people.

A 37 year-old woman was killed in Dolton, Illinois after a man driving a Ford SUV failed to yield to her before taking a left turn, causing her to collide into the SUV. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the motorist involved in SUV vs. motorcycle crash, who was driving with his 16 year-old nephew, exited his vehicle, removed his license plate, and attempted to leave the scene after the accident. A group of residents were able to restrain the man until police arrived, however, and he was soon placed under arrest.

According to 2008 nationwide statistics from the NSTSA, these types of accidents, where an automobile driver taking a left turn fails to yield to an oncoming motorcyclist, accounted for 41% of all fatal accidents involving a motorcycle and another car. This type of collision is particularly dangerous because the rider’s momentum continues as their vehicle comes to a sudden halt, resulting in them being launched headfirst into the street at a high velocity.

In another incident, a 26 year-old man and a 23 year-old woman were killed in Wheeling after the motorcycle they were riding lost control and struck a utility box. The Chicago Daily Herald is reporting that prior to the crash, Buffalo Grove police attempted to pull over the man and his passenger after they sped away from a gas station on the 200 block of Milwaukee Avenue. After seeing the officer’s emergency lights, the pair sped away at what was described as a high rate of speed. As is protocol, the officer did not pursue the riders and alerted the Wheeling police that a speeding motorcycle was headed their way.

Soon after, at about 3:07 a.m., Wheeling police responded to a crash at the intersection of Milwaukee Road and Center Avenue where the riders were found dead. It appears that the riders, who were not wearing helmets at the time, were traveling at a right rate of speed when the driver lost control. Police are still working on reconstructing exactly how the crash occurred.

The Chicago Tribune reported on two other accidents where motorcyclists were killed as well. The first occurred in Glenview, Illinois when a 26 year-old man failed to obey a stop sign on Magnolia Street before attempting a left turn onto East Lake Avenue. A driver traveling eastbound down the center lane struck the rider, who was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead. The other accident reported in the Tribune involved a 51 year-old man who died after rear-ending a car on the Dan Ryan expressway and losing control of his vehicle.

Summers are traditionally a dangerous time for riders in Illinois. After the long winter, motorcyclists come out in droves to take advantage of the state’s warm weather and lack of mandatory helmet laws. In fact, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation, the number of registered motorcycles in Illinois has risen 76% since 1999 to go along with the 26% increase in fatalities during that same period.

While motorcyclists cannot control the negligence of automobile drivers on the road, there are a number of things they can do to hopefully reduce their injuries:

• WEAR A HELMET! The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that wearing a helmet saved the lives of 1,829 riders in 2008 • Drive defensively and do not assume other drivers can see you or are aware of your presence. The NHTSA reports that the majority of multiple-vehicle motorcycle accidents happen because the motorist does not see the rider • Make sure your lights are functioning so people can see you • Don’t drive too fast. Even experienced riders can lose control
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16-year-old boy faces murder charges after causing deadly Chicago car crash

July 12, 2011 | By Dave Abels

A fatal Illinois auto accident that occurred early Sunday morning in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood has resulted in a 16-year-old minor being charged with first-degree murder, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting. The teenager crashed a stolen Range Rover while being chased by police, striking and killing a Chicago 911 dispatcher who was driving home from work.

The minor is being charged as an adult with first-degree murder, burglary, DUI, failing to stop at a red light, and disobeying a stop sign. The teen’s name is not being released.

The tragic incident started when officers conducted a traffic stop at the intersection of W. Blackhawk St. and Elston Avenue around 6:15 AM for a red light violation occurred at Elston and Webster. When police got out of their vehicle, the driver reversed towards the officers and hit a police supervisor’s vehicle.

Chicago police then pursued the Range Rover, which was a stolen vehicle that is owned by a resident of Bellwood, Illinois. The driver sped north on Elston, then turned onto W. Cortland St., turned north on N. Ashland Ave., and next went west on Armitage to Damen Avenue.

The driver made a few more turns and then collided the victim when he disregarded the stop sign at North Hoyne Avenue and Armitage. The police chase lasted between 1.5 to 2 miles.

The victim, a 42-year-old woman, was later identified as a 911 dispatcher who was heading home from her place of employment at the time of the crash. She was rushed to Illinois Masonic Medical Center where she was pronounced dead less than an hour after the accident. An autopsy is scheduled to take place on Monday.

Accident witnesses are stating that the 911 dispatcher’s car hit a fire hydrant after the impact with the Range Rover. The SUV hit a parked car after the first impact. The teenage driver tried to flee the scene of the accident through an alley, but was caught by police and arrested.

The minor was taken to an area hospital after the collision, and will remain in police custody. Witnesses report the teenager sustained a head injury in the accident.

There were no passengers in either vehicle, and no one else was injured.

The investigation is being handled by Grand Central Area detectives and the Major Accident Investigation Unit of the Chicago Police Department. The defendant is to appear in criminal court on Monday at Branch 66, 26th and California.

Click here to read the story as reported by NBC news and Fox news.

Pedestrian killed, 2 others injured in Chicago taxicab accident

July 6, 2011 | By Dave Abels

An Illinois taxi vs. pedestrian collision has left one person dead and two others injured when a cab driver lost control on the morning of June 27, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The incident occurred just before 8:50 AM in the 300 block of E. Illinois Street.

The cab driver reportedly lost control, fatally striking a pedestrian and crashing into a parking garage. The taxi driver and his passenger were both injured when the vehicle hit the garage in the Streeterville neighborhood. Witnesses and police are stating that the passenger was female and she had to be cut out of the backseat. As Chicago fire department personnel worked to extricate her from the vehicle, the male pedestrian’s body was laying in the street under a sheet.

The two injured people were taken by ambulance to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious to critical condition.

Deadly Chicago auto accident – 2 killed, 4 injured

May 23, 2011 | By Dave Abels

An Illinois car crash on the Northwest Side of Chicago has claimed the life of two people and injured four others on Sunday morning, according to WGN news. The collision involved to vehicles crashing into a PLS Check Cashiers store.

The victims fatally injured in the accident were a 57-year-old man from Elmwood Park and a 57-year-old woman from Streamwood. Both were taken by ambulance to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center and pronounced dead a short time later. The two were on a cleaning crew that were finished working downtown and on their way home.

The two vehicles involved in the accident were a beige Hyundai and a black Honda. The Honda hit a streetlight pole before both vehicles struck the store. The cause of the deadly Chicago accident has not been reported.

Fatal Illinois auto accident in northern suburbs of Chicago – felony charges filed

May 15, 2011 | By Dave Abels

A Chicago area car crash that occurred in March, 2011 and caused the death of a 56-year-old Lake Barrington woman has now resulted in reckless homicide charges being filed against a 40-year-old man from downstate Illinois, according to Tribune Local.

The victim was getting into her vehicle at a car wash back on March 24 when a car being operated by the defendant southbound on US Route 12 left the roadway in the area of Honey Lake Road and crashed into the woman and a second vehicle. The second vehicle was then knocked into a third parked in front of it.

The victim and two other people were taken by Lake Zurich Fire Department ambulances to Good Shepherd Hospital. She later died from injuries sustained in the accident.

Felony charges filed in deadly Illinois hit-and-run pedestrian accident

May 7, 2011 | By Dave Abels

Chicago pedestrian accident lawyers previously reported that a 75-year-old man was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver at the intersection of Kimball Avenue and North Avenue on April 1. Now comes word that a 38-year-old West Side resident has been charged with a felony count of leaving the scene of accident causing death, according to ABC news.

The charge was announced by Chicago police officials on Wednesday. Fox News is reporting that the hit and run driver had previously been cited for driving without insurance, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and failure to give information.

The pedestrian victim was crossing the intersection in the Humboldt Park neighborhood just after 8 PM when he was fatally hit. Police later located the defendant and the vehicle and the 4700 block of W. Washington Blvd.

Chicago tour bus accident results in death of pedestrian

May 5, 2011 | By Dave Abels

A 26-year-old woman has been killed in a downtown Chicago pedestrian collision, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The victim was crossing Columbus Avenue at East Illinois Street in the Streeterville neighborhood when she was struck by a tour bus just before 7 PM on Tuesday evening.

The pedestrian was crossing with a green light, but the driver did not yield as he turned onto Columbus. A witness to the accident believed the driver never saw the pedestrian, as he looked shocked and was crying afterwards. The driver reportedly told police he heard a bump, thought it was a curb, but then stopped the bus when he heard a second bump.

According to WGN-TV, other witnesses to the accident said they could tell that nothing could be done to help the victim, and that they were upset about what they had witnessed.