Chicago Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Over the weekend, NBCChicago recounted an Illinois car accident that occurred on the Bishop Ford Freeway. An 18-year-old man, his mother (a mother of five), and another man, were all killed in a car accident that happened during the early hours of Sunday morning. It appears that the car accident happened because the victims’ car was either moving very slowly or stopped in the middle lane when an oncoming SUV rear-ended their car. The man driving the SUV claims that he did not notice the car because their lights were not on. His daughter was a passenger in his car, and neither of them suffered from any serious injuries; they were both wearing seatbelts. NBCChicago says that even hours after the crash, “there were no indications that drugs, speeding or alcohol were to blame”.

The teen driver who died was not wearing a seat belt, but his mother and the other man were. It is reported that the teenager’s mother was a wonderful caretaker, with incredible strength and faith. Reports from NBCChicago, the Chicago Tribune, and CBSChicago all conclude that the cause of the car stalling is currently unknown and it does not sound like any particular driver was at fault.

Although we are unsure of if this accident could’ve been avoided or not, it is important to know what to do if your call should stall in the middle of a lane. According to RoadSense, if possible you should try to safely signal and move to the shoulder of the road. You should then put on your emergency lights. Monitoring your fuel level and keeping your car maintained can help prevent this from happening. As discussed in previous posts, it is crucial to move your car safely away from traffic if a problem should arise. Also, if you witness a stalled car, or a driver that may need help, make sure to pull over away from traffic as well, and cautiously walk over to try to help. If necessary, call 911. We hope that readers will use this knowledge if their car should stall or if they witness an accident of this type.

If you have been a victim in a rear-end accident or have lost a loved one due to a negligent driver, our Illinois accident attorneys may be able to help you receive fair compensation. When a loved one is wrongfully killed, a lawsuit can be filed to help you seek fair compensation and justice for your loss. Contact our Illinois car accident lawyers to see how we may be able to help you.

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.

On the morning of June 14th in West Chicago, a teen was killed in a fatal car accident in which he was a passenger. The Chicago car accident occurred when the sports utility vehicle in which the teen was the front seat passenger in struck a tree. The teen was pronounced dead on the scene and his death was caused by mass trauma. The driver of the vehicle has been charged with drunk driving, unlawful consumption of alcohol by a minor and failure to reduce speed to avoid a car accident. The two passengers in the backseat were taken to local hospitals to treat their minor personal injuries. For more information on this car accident in Chicago, click here.

A conversion van was headed west on Illinois 161 when it crossed the center line and collided with another car. The impact caused the van driver to be ejected from his vehicle. He was flown via helicopter to a hospital with serious personal injuries. The driver of the car, a 79-year-old man from Swansea, was killed instantly. An article from the Belleville News-Democrat did not reveal what may have caused the van driver to lose control of his vehicle and cross the center line. The tragic Illinois car accident closed the road for several hours while emergency workers cleaned up debris. To read the full story on this car accident in Belleville, follow the link.

An elderly man had to be extricated from his vehicle after an Urbana car accident on May 13. According to The News-Gazette, the man did not stop at a red light and was struck by an SUV. The impact caused his vehicle to collide with another car before coming to a stop. The 84-year-old was cut from his car and taken to an Urbana hospital where he remains in fair condition. A passenger in the SUV was also taken to the hospital with minor injuries and released. Read the full story of this car accident in Urbana by clicking the link.

In November 2005, a 56-year-old woman died in a Chicago car accident when a police car blew through a stoplight at 60mph and collided with the SUV she was riding in. On May 11, her family finally saw compensation for the loss of their loving mother and grandmother. Chicago City Council approved a settlement of $3.5 million for the victim’s family. According to the family’s attorney, the police officer was driving too fast for conditions to back-up another officer in a minor incident. To read the full account of this Chicago car accident settlement, follow the link.

A truck driver was cited for failing to stop his truck after he rear-ended a pick-up truck, leading to a chain-reaction accident involving two other cars. The accident took place roughly 100 miles from Chicago. The truck driver failed to stop and smashed his tractor trailer into the pick-up, causing it to crash into a Jeep which then collided with a Toyota Scion. No serious injuries were reported in the crash; however the pick-up driver and a passenger in the Jeep were both taken to a nearby hospital. A report also noted that narcotics were found in the semi driver’s possession. Read the full account of this truck accident.

Recently, the Chicago Car Accident Lawyer Blog posted an entry about a fatal crash on the Dan Ryan Expressway. More information has now come out about the Chicago police man who was driving drunk and caused the accident that killed two young people, Andrew Cazares, 23, and Fausto Manzera, 21. According to a report in the Chicago Tribune, the cop was released on April 12 on $500,000 bail, infuriating those close to the victims. The article also notes that the police officer had a history of driving offenses and was just ordered to pay damages for a 2005 car accident. Read more about the aftermath of this tragic accident by clicking the link.

A car accident happened in the early morning of April 10 on the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago, leaving two people dead. The accident occurred when an SUV slammed into a car that was stalled along the side of the highway, presumably because of a flat tire. The disabled vehicle caught fire after the impact and both passengers were killed. The driver of the SUV was an off-duty Chicago police officer. Witnesses helped him out of his car immediately after the accident but then he tried to flee the scene on foot. Police apprehended him and he is now in critical condition in Northwestern Hospital. The Cook County Medical Examiner is trying to identify the victims of the accident.

Read the full account of the fatal car accident.

A 61-year-old man from Alexis, IL was killed in a car accident on March 26 while driving near Knoxville. The decedent was driving his Chevy Avalanche in the left lane of I-74 when another vehicle approached his car at a high rate of speed. The second car attempted to pass the Avalanche in the right lane but ended up colliding with the SUV instead. The Avalanche hit the median and rolled, ejecting the driver who was not wearing a seat belt. The driver of the second vehicle had no injuries and was charged with improper lane change. Read the full account of this car accident from the Peoria Journal Star .

On March 21, a Chicago woman was injured in a car accident as she exited the Edens Expressway in Wilmette, IL. The car crash occurred when the driver lost control of her Toyota SUV on the off-ramp of the expressway. Her car hit a median and flew into the air, causing the car to cross over another busy road in a commercial area. The car eventually came to a stop when it smashed into a Border’s bookstore.

Witnesses to the car accident quickly helped the injured driver and her passenger out of the vehicle. Shortly after doing so, the SUV caught on fire. According to the report, the driver suffered injuries and remains in a local hospital. The report also noted that the driver most likely lost control of her car because she was driving too fast on the ramp.

Read the full account of the car crash by visiting the link.

A two-vehicle car accident in Carbondale, Illinois has left four people injured. Two children were injured and were transported to a hospital by ambulance. The crash involved a car and a sport-utility-vehicle (SUV). Emergency responders struggled to extricate one passenger from the car. Nearly an hour after the collision, medics, police and firefighters were still on the scene. Read more about this Illinois car accident.

The 17-year-old driver in a fatal car accident that occurred on July 8, 2008 has been indicted on charges of manslaughter. The high school student, who is being tried as an adult, could face 3 to over 12 years in prison. The teen failed to slow down at a curve and lost control of his Toytoa Tacoma truck, causing it to roll several times after going airborne and land on its rooftop. One of the passengers, another high school student, was pronounced dead at the scene. It is not yet known whether the passenger’s family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit. Read more about this fatal car crash.

Scientists are currently developing a car accident reporting system designed to automatically call for help when a car crash occurs. Scientists working on the project from Georgia Southern University say that in car accidents involving rollovers, drivers and passengers are often unable to call for help. Accidents like these occurring in remote areas are at risk for a delayed response by rescuers. The new technology would use a global positioning system device in addition to an inclinometer to detect rollover and wireless technology to evaluate the conditions of a vehicle involved in an accident. Read more about this car accident prevention system.

New policies in Illinois have been put into place to protect police and drivers from future car accidents. A lawsuit is currently pending against an Illinois State Police trooper who caused a fatal car accident last year in Rockford, IL. The police officer attempted to make a U-turn after witnessing a vehicle drive through a red light. As the policeman made the turn, his car collided with an SUV. The front-seat passenger sustained fatal injuries as a result of this collision. The new policies aim to prevent accidents like this from occurring.

Under previous Illinois law, police vehicles were permitted to go against traffic signals such as stoplights and stop signs with no speed limitations. A new code system was implemented in late 2008, giving police guidelines for how to react, depending on the severity of the situation.

Follow the link to read more about how these policies can prevent future car accidents.

Last week, a judge heard arguments for a change of venue in a careless driving case, five months after a car accident killed one person. In July, the driver lost control of his tractor-trailer while driving. The truck overturned and slammed into an SUV, killing the SUV driver. Four others were injured in the truck accident. A wrongful death lawsuit and personal injury lawsuit have also been filed against the driver of the truck.

For the full article.

A Chicago woman was charged last week for allegedly running over her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend with an SUV during an altercation. The car accident victim was struck by the SUV and pronounced dead at a Chicago-area hospital. The death was ruled a homicide and the driver has been charged with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.

For the full article.

Survivors of two victims killed in a fatal car accident have filed an Illinois personal injury lawsuit against the driver and his employer. The Illinois driver was working for a company when the tow truck he was driving allegedly crashed into a stalled SUV a couple weeks ago.

For the full article.

A man died after his sport-utility vehicle collided with a school bus in Orland Park, Illinois. The man was taken to the hospital for treatment of his personal injuries and was pronounced dead about an hour after the automobile accident. The man was traveling east on Southwest Highway at 179th Street in his SUV when he collided with a mid-size school bus owned by Alpha Bus Services in Crestwood, Illinois. Two men were also treated for minor personal injuries at the scene. At this time no bus accident lawsuits have been filed. To read the full story, click here.

A new personal injury lawsuit has recently been filed by the family of a man who was run over by a car in the Durkin Park fight that occurred earlier this year. Durkin Park was the site of the clash that ended with one teen driving an SUV through a crowd of people. Despite the numerous and frantic calls to 911 that night, authorities were slow to respond and dealt with the callers with sarcasm and apathy. The man who was run over by the SUV sustained personal injuries that have prevented him from returning to his job in construction. He and his family are suing the driver of the car, the owner of the car, and the City of Chicago.

Click here for the full article
Click here for a post on an earlier lawsuit filed after the Durkin Park fight

The family of a young woman who died in a fatal automobile accident that occurred on the way back from the BMW Championship is suing the organizer of the golf tournament, the Western Golf Association, for wrongful death. Also being sued are Waste Management and Barton Staffing Services of Joliet, Illinois. The deceased woman was in a van that was transporting workers back to their homes when a faulty wheel and/or brakes caused the van to crash on I-55. The van was carrying fourteen passengers, and four of those passengers now face deportation for being in the country illegally. However, the two people who died as a result of this automobile accident were in the county legally, and the young woman was a U.S. citizen born in Chicago. Immigration rights activists have criticized the WGA for not doing enough to acknowledge the WGA's role in these deaths. The family’s representative stated, “You cannot hire a contractor and say [you] don't care how much you pay your staff or what conditions you allow them to work under and then say you have no responsibility when they die as a result of being transported to work in an unsafe vehicle.”

Click here for the full article