Chicago Car Accident Lawyer Blog

The new statewide prohibition against texting while driving that is set to go into effect for all of Illinois tomorrow has been in effect in Chicago for the past year. The ban against texting includes any type of phone usage when the car is not parked or pulled over and not in gear. The reason for this new law is because of the danger of texting while driving because drivers may be distracted from their driving and more easily get into dangerous car accidents. According to The Daily Herald, the level of help this ban will bring in terms of reducing car accidents will not really be known until the law goes into affect and cops start actually enforcing the law. If you would like to read more about this new Illinois law going into affect shortly, please click here.

A Swansea car accident involving three cars that occurred on December 27th, left one man with serious personal injuries. The accident occurred at Illinois 159 and Frank Scott Parkway when a pickup truck tried to make a left turn and failed to yield to another car, causing the pickup to flip over and hit another car. The driver of the pickup truck had to be extricated from the vehicle and was airlifted to a local hospital, and his current condition is not known. According to BND, the car accident caused a major backup on the Illinois 159 northbound. To read more about this Illinois car accident, click here.

A Greene County car accident involving two cars, on December 26th, left the driver of one of the cars and his young passenger seriously injured. According to My Journal Courier, the car accident occurred on U.S. 67 when the injured driver lost control of his car and went into the lane of oncoming traffic, colliding with another vehicle. The driver of the second vehicle only suffered minor personal injuries but the driver that caused the accident and his teenage passenger were left in much more serious condition in local hospitals. The original driver was cited for improper lane usage and operating an uninsured vehicle. If you would like more information on this Illinois car accident, please click on this link.

A Chicago car accident occurred on December 26th in which a driver of a pickup truck sideswiped a young boy, causing the boy to be hospitalized in serious condition. The accident occurred on South Kostner Avenue, and after the car hit the boy the car drove away. The boy then walked home and did not go to the hospital until later that evening when he complained that his head hurt. According to The Chicago Sun Times, the Chicago Police are looking for the hit-and-run driver and ask anyone that has any information in regards to the car accident to please contact them as soon as possible. If you would like to read more about this terrible car accident, please click here.

A new law will go into effect on January 1st in which it will be illegal to text on a cell phone in the state of Illinois. This law includes outlawing texting while at a stop sign or stop light as well as when the vehicle is in motion. According to Review Atlas, hopefully this will reduce the number of car accidents caused by people not paying attention and texting while driving. While the law is directed at all ages, young drivers seem to be most at risk for getting in texting related car accidents and advocates of this law hope that this new law will encourage parents to talk to their teenagers about paying attention while driving. The importance of parents incorporating this advice in a talk about safe driving to their children is that texting can be very dangerous, but the new law may still make it hard to police officers to catch texters while driving. If you would like to read more about this texting ban in Illinois, please click on this link.

Due to the high number of car accidents resulting from ice on the Chicago Skyway, the highway was closed in both directions on December 23rd. Several accidents occurred over the course of the day and due to the ice getting worse officials decided to close the Skyway until conditions improved. According to Chicago Sun Times, officials were urging drivers to stay off the roads if at all possible when snow turned to ice on the roads. To read more about this highway closure, click here.

Ice on Chicago roadways led to a number of car accidents on the evening of December 23rd. One accident occurred in Oak Brook on a ramp onto the I-294. A number of people were taken to local hospitals following another accident on the Chicago Skyway. The Skyway was closed following the multi-vehicle accident. According to the Chicago Sun Times, the accident was not the first on this highway that day and several other accidents occurred nearby.

An Illinois woman from Braidwood has filed a car accident lawsuit against the other driver involved in a May accident in Coal City. The Plaintiff was a passenger in a vehicle that was struck when the Defendant’s car attempted to turn and hit the other car. According to Morris Daily Herald, the car accident complaint alleges that as a result of the accident the Plaintiff was thrown from the vehicle. To read more about this Illinois car accident lawsuit, click here.

While the number of car accidents resulting from pavement-edge drop-offs remain high, little efforts are being made to improve the roads safety. These drop-offs cause about 160 deaths a year and injure thousands more, and according to The New York Times, the drops are easily fixable. The drop-offs are common in construction work zones and cause a great deal of car accidents along with other safety hazards at work sites. Unfortunately, the laws and regulations governing safety measures in work zones are virtually non-existent and what precautions are in place are rarely followed. To read more about the issues with dangerous work zones, please click on this link.

A Chicago car accident on the Stevenson Expressway on December 20th left one man dead. The car accident occurred when an off duty police officer’s car veered onto the shoulder of the I-55 and struck a barrier and then flew over the median and struck two vehicles going in the opposite direction. The driver of one of the vehicles was killed in the accident and the police officer and third driver did not suffer life threatening injuries. The area of the I-55 where the car accident occurred was shut down for about five hours to clean up and for police to investigate the crash. The Lockport Police Department, where the off duty police officer worked would not say more than that he was involved in the crash and at this time according to Chicago Breaking News, it is unknown if the police officer’s blood alcohol count was over the legal limit. To read more about this tragic Illinois accident, click here.

A Cook County sheriff that was charged in connection with a Chicago car accident in which an Illinois Department of Transportation worker was hit has had a charge of reckless driving added against him. The car accident occurred when the sheriff was off duty on September 2nd and the sheriff initially faced no citations, however the driver struck by the car felt that no citations were issued at the time because the sheriff was wearing his uniform when the car accident occurred. Later that month, police issued the sheriff a citation for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and failure to yield. According to Chicago Sun Times, the reckless driving charge was just resulting added. To read more about this Chicago car accident, click here.

An Alsip man was killed early this morning after the driving was driving on Hoyne Avenue in Chicago and struck a parked car. According to Chicago Breaking News, the Morgan Park accident left only the one man with injuries and we was pronounced dead at a local hospital shortly after the car accident. At this point the fatal Chicago car accident is still under investigation, but if you would like to read more about the accident please click on the link.

A single car accident resulted in the death of a Crisman man early on the morning of December 16th. The car accident occurred in Edgar County on Illinois 1 when the driver drove off the road into a ditch, hit a culvert and flipped his car. According to the Gazette, the driver was not wearing his seatbelt at the time of the car accident and was thrown from his car causing him to die of fatal wounds. To read more about this fatal accident, please click on the link.

Chicago Breaking News reports that a Chicago man who was biking in Logan Square was killed when he was hit by a van. According to the report, Chicago police believe that he was caught in the middle of an altercation between two other vehicles. A vehicle rammed the van and forced it into the path of the bicyclist. The van driver apparently fled the scene on foot after hitting the biker. The victim of the bike accident was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center where he later died from the severe personal injuries he sustained in the accident. Read more about this tragic bike accident in Chicago.

Effective January 1, 2010, drivers in Illinois won’t be allowed to “compose, send or read an electronic message.” This law will hopefully diminish Illinois automobile accidents.

A 22-year-old Chicago man suffered serious personal injuries after a car struck him while he was riding his bicycle on December 13. Chicago Breaking News reports that the bicycle accident occurred in Chicago’s Jefferson Park neighborhood. According to the report, the negligent driver was attempting to go around a car stopped in the left lane when they collided with the bicyclist. The injured biker was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago in critical condition. Police cited the driver for “negligent driving” and “overtaking a vehicle on the right.” If you would like to read the full coverage of this Chicago bicycle accident, please follow the hyperlink.

A man has been charged with a DUI after he injured five people in a car accident on December 11 in Evanston. According to the Chicago Sun Times, the drunk driver blew through a red light and collided with another car. Three passengers in his car were injured, along with two people in the other vehicle. No one suffered critical personal injuries, but the victims were taken to local Chicago hospitals following the crash. To learn more about this car accident in Evanston, click on the link.

On December 10, a man was killed when his SUV was struck by a westbound Metra train in suburban Chicago. The train accident occurred when the man’s vehicle stopped on the Metra tracks. The victim’s wife escaped the SUV, but he did not make it out in time and the impact of the collision killed him. A report in the Chicago Tribune did not say why the man’s car was stopped on the train tracks. The Chicago commuter train's service was delayed by three hours as emergency workers cleared the accident. Read the full account of this Chicago Metra accident by following the link.

A North Side Chicago car accident on December 8th resulted in the death of one man. The car accident occurred at the intersection of Hollywood Avenue and Sheridan Road and was caused by a woman rear-ending the victims car at a stopped traffic light. According to Chicago Breaking News, the victim was having a heart attack and therefore did not go when the light turned green and then the woman’s car then struck his and pushed it through the intersection and into a light pole. The victim was alive following the car accident but then died shortly after being taken to a local hospital. The woman that rear-ended the man was cited with following too closely. If you would like to read more about this Chicago car accident and the victim’s life, please click on the hyperlink.

An Illinois man faces felony charges in connection with a fatal Chicago car accident that occurred on December 6th. The Gage Park accident occurred when the driver was driving under the influence and was driving the wrong way on 58th Street, entered the California Avenue intersection and struck a car. According to Chicago Breaking News, the victim was in the car struck by the aggravated driver, and the driver and his passenger refused treatment. The driver was originally ticketed for driving without insurance, driving the wrong way on a one-way street, reckless driving and failing to yield, but upon finding drugs and alcohol in his system the felony charges for aggravated driving under the influence were added. To read more about this Chicago car accident, click on this link.

Very early this morning, a pedestrian was struck by a car in the Austin neighborhood in Chicago. According to Chicago Breaking News, three other people were injured in this Chicago car accident and all four injured were taken to local area hospitals. The car accident occurred near North and Central Avenues on the West Side of Chicago. At this point little is known about the conditions of the victims. To read more about this Chicago pedestrian accident, please click here.

A young woman has died after her car crashed into Lake Michigan earlier this morning near downtown Chicago. The Chicago car accident occurred when the driver drove east on Randolph and through the entrance of the harbor and into the water which was about 12 feet deep at the point of entry. According to Chicago Breaking News, there is no evidence of the woman trying to stop her car before the car accident occurred. The victim was alive when the help crews pulled her from the water, but died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital shortly after being taken there. If you would like to read more about this tragic Chicago car accident, please click on this link.

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has offered several tips to help keep families safe over the holiday season, hopefully reducing the number of Illinois car accidents this season. IDOT first recommends to make your vehicle winter ready by assuring that you regularly check all car equipment and make sure everything is running smoothly because the Illinois winter weather can be very tough on vehicles. Next, it is important to have an emergency survival kit in your car, in the event of a car accident or other car trouble. This kit should include items such as an ice scraper and other items to clean an icy windshield, jumper cables, antifreeze, shovels, tire chains, salt and other basic tools that could come in handy in an emergency. In the event that you get stuck in your vehicle it is important to have blankets, extra coats, gloves, hats, food, candles, fire extinguisher, flashlights and flares. Also remember to always have a cell phone, preferably with a backup battery source on you at all times when traveling in a car. Whenever you are planning a trip somewhere in horrible weather, make sure you are only driving in these terrible conditions at times when it is absolutely necessary, because so many car accidents happen at times when people should not even be driving in such dangerous conditions. If you must travel check the weather conditions along the route prior to departure to give you a better idea of what to expect. Current road conditions can be found at www.dot.il.gov and Interstate rest areas are equipped with monitors that display this current road condition information as well. Also make sure to always let others know where and when you are leaving and make sure to let them know when you safely arrive. If you are planning to travel to an unfamiliar area try to travel in daylight areas and bring detailed maps along with you. Also, as in any driving situation, make sure you have proper personal identification, car registration and insurance and a full gas tank. When you are on the road make sure to always have your seat belt fastened and drive cautiously, always willing to seek refuge if weather conditions become too severe to continue driving. Always be alert and aware of your surroundings. If you do become stranded make sure to pull off as far of the road as possible to try to avoid a car accident and do not panic! Use your best judgment to determine if you should leave your vehicle to try to seek help (be aware of the temperature outside) and if you decide to stay in your vehicle and wait for help make sure to stay moving when possible to increase body heat. Please follow these tips to avoid car accidents and have a safe holiday season! For more IDOT tips, please click on this hyperlink.

A Chicago Heights man has died after suffering serious personal injuries when struck by a car in a Chicago Heights car accident that occurred on November 28th. According to Southtown Star, the victim was crossing Chicago Road at 15th Street when he was hit by a car that was headed southbound. The man was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn following the car accident and passed away from his severe personal injuries four days later. At this point Chicago Heights police are not commenting on the accident. If you would like more details about this terrible Chicago Heights accident, click on the link.

An Illinois woman was struck and killed by a car while she was out of her vehicle on the corner of 209th Street and Western Avenue in Chicago Heights investigating a minor car accident that she had just been involved in. According to The Southtown Star, the Illinois woman and another woman involved in the minor accident were outside of their cars inspecting the damage when another vehicle hit the two women. One Illinois woman suffered fatal injuries and the other driver, who was a teenager suffered a broken leg when struck by the other car. The South Suburban Major Accident Reconstruction Team is investigating this fatal car accident, and for more information please click here.

A Chicago car accident that occurred on November 29th on U.S 57 in Calumet Park killed a college baseball player. According to The Chicago Tribune, the former Illinois resident who was on his way back to school when the crash occurred was pronounced dead at the scene after his car hit a wall and rolled over. While the details of the accident are not yet known, police know that alcohol was not a factor in the car accident. To read more about this tragic accident, click here.

A single car accident near Effingham resulted in the death of an Illinois man that was the assistant football coach as Eastern Illinois University. According to The Chicago Tribune, the car accident occurred on November 28th, and happened while the coach and his family and another coach were driving back from a playoff football game in Carbondale, when the driver served to miss a deer and rolled over. The coach was the only person fatality injured, but two other people involved in the crash were hospitalized. The coach is survived by his wife and two young children. If you would like more information on this Illinois car accident, please click here.