Articles Posted in Wrongful Death

Residents in and around Bourbannais, IL, are mourning the loss of a loss of a 20 year veteran of the police auxiliary and special education teacher that was killed in a bus accident on Monday. The tragic accident occurred at the busy intersection of North Convent and John Casey roads in Bourbannais as the victim was escorting a special needs student to a local convenience store. Reports indicate that the bus accident victim was struck and killed as he pushed the special needs student out of the way of the bus. The driver of the River Valley Metro Mass Transit bus told police that she did not see the victim prior to the collision. Police continue to investigate the tragic bus accident and no citations have been issued to date.

The accident victim, Thomas ‘Jim’ Dunn, is now being mourned by the community in and around Bourbannais, IL. Dunn had worked as a computer technician in the Kankakee public school district prior to his becoming an aide at Camelot Therapeutic Day School in Bourbannais. He was an avid history buff and was frequent participant at adaptive baseball games and French-Indian war reenactments. The mother of the special education student whom Dunn saved was quoted as calling the deceased an ‘angel from heaven’.

A North Dakota woman was killed earlier this week in a fatal West Side Chicago car accident. The car accident victim was reportedly a passenger in a vehicle that struck a tree in the 1600 block of West Harrison St. early last Sunday morning. Preliminary reports indicate that the white vehicle in which she was a passenger was found resting against a Rush Hospital parking structure after striking the tree. The Chicago Police Major Accident Investigations Unit reports that charges are pending against the driver of the vehicle.

The Chicago car accident victim, who was later identified 25 year old Angeline De Leon of Fargo, North Dakota, was taken to John H. Stroger Hospital where she was pronounced dead at 2:38 p.m. The 23 year old driver of the vehicle was also taken in critical condition to John H. Stroger Hospital in Cook County while a 4 year old rear seat passenger was listed in stable condition after being rushed to University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital. The fatal Chicago car accident is still being investigated by the Chicago Police Department’s Major Investigation Unit.

If you have been involved in a Chicago area car accident, you should contact an experience attorney to discuss potential avenues of recovery. Even a passenger in a one vehicle accident may have viable personal injury claim in certain situations.

The Klest Law Firm scored a noteworthy triumph for victims of drunk driving accidents in Illinois earlier this year when the First District Appellate Court reversed a trial court ruling that had dismissed a wrongful death claim. The trial judge had determined that the Illinois Dram Shop Act preempted all alcohol related liability on summary judgment. The case itself, Hicks v. Korean Airlines, involved a Chicago car accident victim that was killed by a drunk driver leaving a work sponsored event. An investigation into the facts surrounding the tragedy indicated that the intoxicated driver had attended a Korean Airlines work function that may or may not have been a Korean Airlines promotional event. Furthermore, it was uncovered that the consumption of large amounts alcohol at the event may have been not only culturally accepted but even somewhat compulsory for employment.

The complaint contained a count alleging negligence against Korean Airlines under a theory of respondeat superior. In other words, the negligence count was based on the allegation that the at-fault intoxicated driver was within the scope of employment at the time of, and leading up to, the fatal crash. The First District Appellate Court reversed the trial court determining that whether the allegedly intoxicated driver was within the scope of her employment was a question of fact to be determined by a jury. In doing so, the First District rejected the idea that the Illinois Dram Shop Act preempts all alcohol related liability.

The decision is a significant victory for those injured by intoxicated individuals in Illinois. The attorneys at the Klest Law Firm were able to take a case that many other lawyers had rejected and turn it into a success for accident victims throughout the State of Illinois.

A north suburban resident was killed earlier this week when she was struck by an allegedly intoxicated driver on the 200 block of North Green Bay Road in Waukegan, IL. According to reports, the victim, a resident of Waukegan, had just left her home and was heading to a local laundry facility when her vehicle was struck. The Chicago car accident occurred at the intersection of Green Bay Rd. and Westwaukee roads in Waukegan, IL, around 4:00 p.m. on Monday December 13th. The victim’s 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier was entering Green Bay Rd. when she was struck by the allegedly intoxicated driver on the driver’s side door.

The Chicago car accident victim was rushed to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan, IL, where she was pronounced dead shortly after 4:20 p.m. The deceased was a substitute teacher in the Waukegan School District and had moved to the area about five years ago. She was the mother of two teenage boys. Responding police reported smelling alcohol on the other driver’s breath upon arriving at the scene. She was also taken to Vista East Medical Center where she was treated for minor injuries and her blood was drawn. She has been charged with failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, driving under the influence of alcohol, and aggravated DUI causing a death, a class 2 felony. The matter is still being investigated by local authorities.

A North Suburban Chicago car accident left one man and two toddlers dead earlier today in Avon Township, IL. The fatal Chicago crash occurred near the intersection of Rollins Rd. and Route 45 in the northern Chicago suburbs. According to Lake County Sheriff’s Police, the car accident victims were all backseat passengers in a Jeep that was struck at the intersection by a 2008 Lincoln Navigator that was eastbound on Rollins Rd. Reports indicate that the driver of the Navigator ran a red light before striking the Jeep. The impact of the collision tore the back half of the Jeep open ejecting the three backseat passengers.

The Chicago car accident victims included one 26 year old Lake Villa male and two young children. The children were rushed to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, IL, where they were treated for massive head injuries. They were later airlifted to Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, IL. The adult male was pronounced dead by the Lake County Coroner this afternoon. Both the driver and a front seat passenger in the Jeep were also taken to Advocate Condell in Libertyville, IL, with undisclosed neck and back injuries. The driver of the Lincoln Navigator and her two year old passenger were treated on the scene and did not seek further medical care. The tragic multi victim Chicago car accident is still under investigation by local authorities.

A one vehicle car accident claimed the life of two individuals last Friday afternoon in Chicago’s Roseland neighborhood. The fatal Chicago car accident occurred in the 500 block of West 111th Street in Chicago’s Roseland neighborhood. According to authorities, an Oldsmobile Achieva was eastbound on 111th street when it ran a stop sign, crossed the center line, and hit a curb and a tree. Both a 13 year old boy and a 34 year old woman were pronounced dead on the scene of the crash according to a spokesperson from the Chicago Fire Department. Both of the Chicago car accident victims were in the backseat of the vehicle at the time of the crash. Neither was related to the at-fault driver and the relationship between vehicle occupants remains unknown at this time. The Chicago car accident victims were both residents of Chicago’s South Side.

The driver and one other passenger survived the Chicago car crash. They were both transported to an area hospital following the accident where they were treated and released. The driver of the vehicle was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol according to Chicago Police. She is scheduled to appear in Traffic Court on December 14th for the DUI charges while investigation of the accident by authorities remains ongoing.

An Illinois teen has been charged with reckless homicide and four counts of aggravated DUI following a fatal one car accident in suburban Bolingbrook, IL. The Chicago car crash occurred around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday November 13, 2010. According to reports, the accused is a 17 year old teen driver had been at a nearby night club prior to the fatal crash. The driver was allegedly driving erratically and doing donuts in the parking lot of the nightclub before the accident. Reports indicate that he almost hit a nightclub bouncer leaving the parking lot. The teen driver allegedly crashed his car into a garden level apartment while attempting to park his vehicle upon returning home. The driver allegedly hit the gas pedal of his vehicle on mistake catapulting the vehicle into a garden level apartment. His car pinned the Chicago car accident victim to her bed, causing her death.

The teen driver’s blood alcohol level was .204 according to a Hospital blood draw performed right after the fatal crash. The driver and a passenger allegedly attempted to flee the scene of the fatal car crash but they were grabbed and held by a neighbor. A Will County judge set his bail at $1 million dollars on Monday.

A Chicago woman was fatally struck by a vehicle early last Saturday morning on Chicago’s South Side. The tragic Chicago car accident occurred on the 7300 block of South Racine Ave. around 2:15 a.m. on November 6th. According to reports, the Chicago car accident victim was crossing the street near that location when she was struck by a motorist. Her sister witnessed the tragedy first hand. The accident victim was rushed to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, IL, where she was pronounced dead at 2:42 a.m. according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. An autopsy of the Chicago vehicle accident victim showed that Hicks died of multiple injuries resulting from the alcohol related Chicago car accident.

The driver of the vehicle that struck the victim now faces one count each of aggravated DUI accident causing death, driving under the influence of alcohol, driving under the influence of alcohol with a blood alcohol level of at least .08. failure to reduce speed, failure to stay within a lane, not yielding to a pedestrian, and operating a motor vehicle without insurance. Further information regarding the individual that caused the deadly Chicago car crash is not available at this time.

Alcohol related car accidents claim about 17,000 lives each year in the U.S. If you have any questions regarding DUI related car accidents or would otherwise like to speak with an attorney, please call us today.

A Chicago woman who had spent years working with senior citizens in Cicero, IL, was killed this morning in a tragic west side car crash. The Chicago car accident occurred at the intersection of Laramie and 32nd Place around 7:20 a.m. According to reports, the victim was driving her 2001 Kia Sephia southbound on Laramie when a northbound Ford Explorer crossed into the southbound lanes and struck her vehicle. The Kia came to a rest in the southbound lanes of Laramie Ave. near the northwest corner of the intersection.

The Chicago car accident victim was rushed to Mt. Sinai Hospital in Chicago where she was pronounced dead at 9:40 a.m. The driver of the Explorer was treated for non-

life threatening injuries at MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn, IL. The victim of the crash has been described as a well-liked town worker for the town of Cicero, IL. Police have indicated that the at-fault driver may have suffered a ‘medical emergency’ causing him to lose control of his vehicle and swerve into oncoming traffic. Police have indicated that alcohol was likely not a factor in the tragic Chicago car crash. The matter is still being investigated and reviewed by the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.

A fatal Chicago area car accident left one woman dead and another individual injured earlier this morning in Barrington Hills, IL. The car accident occurred at about 8:17 a.m. on Algonquin Rd. between Bateman and Helms Roads in Barrington Hills, IL, near Carpentersville, IL. According to reports, responding officers witnessed a Ford Escort operating erratically on westbound Route 62. The Escort apparently crossed the center lane just west of Bateman road striking an eastbound 2003 Acura head-on. The driver of the Acura was rushed to St. Alexius Hospital in Hoffman Estates for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the Ford Escort was pronounced dead at the scene. A portion of Algonquin Rd. between Bateman and Helm Roads was closed while police investigated the crash. The Barrington Hills Police Department and Major Crash Assistance Team are still investigating the fatal suburban Chicago car accident.

The area of road that was the site of the fatal crash is somewhat notorious due to the high speed of most vehicles traveling down Algonquin Rd. Chicago drivers should take extra caution when operating motor vehicles at a high rate of speed in and around the city and suburbs. If you have any questions about high speed car accidents or would like to speak to an attorney experienced in handling fatal Chicago car accidents, please contact the Klest Injury Law Firm.