Illinois Truck Accident Lawyer Blog

Truck crashes are typically the most damaging type of crash on our roadway and the most costly type of truck accident often involves propane. Crashes that involve large semis carrying thousands of gallons of combustible fuel skyrockets the potential for serious physical harm to person and property. What makes these wrecks particularly devastating is the chance that they may cause explosions that damage things in a far wider radius that typically found in a regular truck accident.

The Boston Channel reported on one of those close calls involving a propane truck this weekend. The driver of a tractor-trailer hauling the fuel crashed into a utility pole on Friday evening. The truck immediately burst into flames, but in a fortunate bit of luck, the majority of the propane cargo had already been unloaded. That meant that only 100 gallons remained in the trailer of the machine at the time of the accident.

Still, the risk of these accidents is so severe that dozens of residents within a three quarter mile radius of the crash were evacuated to a nearby school as a precaution. Also, for the safety of the emergency personnel, the emergency management director decided to allow the fire to burn itself off. In that way firefighters were not placed in danger of being on top of the truck if it exploded.

Continue reading " Propane Truck Accident Sends Dozens From Their Homes " »

Heartland News reported on a deadly truck crash early last week that struck in southern Illinois. The accident occurred in Perry County shortly after 12:30am on Monday morning.

At that time a 22-year old driver was heading north in a car on Trico Road south of Pyatt-Cutler Road. There was one passenger in the vehicle at the time. At the time of the accident the young man behind the wheel entered the intersection between the two roads. Upon entering the intersection his car was sideswiped by a large, speeding Peterbuilt semi-truck.

As with most accidents involving a large tractor-trailer, the damage was severe. The driver of the car and his passenger were both killed by the impact. The 51-year old truck driver received minor injuries.

It is unclear exactly what mistake led to the truck accident. It appears that the truck driver did not have a stop sign at the intersection. The car driver may have either driven through a stop sign or accidentally pulled out in front of the oncoming truck. Investigators are still working to determine the exact circumstances around the accident.

Continue reading " Illinois Truck Crash Kills Two Men " »

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On this blog we have repeated emphasized the immense damage that often results from truck crashes. The bigger the vehicle the more destruction the machine is capable of causing. Most often the types of trucks involved in accidents are semi-trailers that haul products across the country non-stop every day. These commercial trucking accidents are more common simply because there are tens of thousands of these vehicles on the road at any given moment. However, the maxim about size causing damage is true for all big vehicles, not just commercial trucks.

Even the large vehicles that are supposed to help in emergency situations can themselves become stuck in deadly accidents. For example, ABC Local News reported earlier this week on a fire truck that was involved in a deadly highway crash.

On Tuesday afternoon a fire truck hauling a state prison fire crew was traveling west on a local highway. The large team (over 14 people) was part of a prison crew that included several low-security inmates and several local firemen. While heading back to their camp from a project, the truck was hit head-on by a white suburban Forester headed in the opposite direction. The SUV was being driven by an elderly man in his 70s. Investigators believe that the SUV crossed the center line and hit the fire truck.

The elderly driver was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash as was a member of the fire crew that was thrown from the vehicle in the accident. Four other crew members were rushed to local hospitals in critical condition and at least eight others were wounded.

Continue reading " Head-On Fire Truck Crash Kills Two " »

The Daily Herald reported last week on a new lawsuit that was filed following a deadly truck crash. One family and a victim have sued the truck driver and plumbing company whose truck was used in the accident that killed one person and severely injured another.

Early in the morning on October 25th, around 2am, a 22-year old victim and her friend were sideswiped by a 30-year old man driving a plumbing truck owned by a company for which he occasionally worked. Investigators still have not pieced together all of the details of the truck crash which occurred nearly a month ago.

What is undisputed is that the driver fled the scene of the accident, failing to provide any aid to the injured pair. He eventually turned himself into the police several hours after the accident. Police are still investigating allegations that the truck driver was drunk at the time of the crash. Because of the delay in apprehending him, it is unclear whether the drivers’ BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) was above .08, which is the legal limit in Illinois.

Continue reading " Tow Truck Driver Sued Following Aurora Crash " »

Several drivers education teachers from a city high school recently became the first to participate in a new federal safety program aimed at minimizing truck accidents. According to Arizona Central News the purpose of the program is to educate instructors who will in turn better explain to their students the unique safety concerns involved with sharing the road with semis. The program is better known as a “Train the Teacher” session.

Specifically, a major focus of the program was to emphasize the prevalence of blind spots and the differences between braking in a truck and a regular vehicle.

Truckers often attempt to calculate their maneuvers like lane changes and entering/exiting highways in advance. When cars make speed changes and lane changes, truckers often make mistakes and fail to account for the changes. One recent study explains that 65% of crashes between cars and trucks take place at those “contact” points—when cars are changing lanes and entering/exiting the freeway.

It is important for both car and truck drivers to better understand these different dynamics. When these two vehicles collide, serious injury and death is all too common. Depending on the circumstances both the cars and truck drivers are occasionally at fault.

Continue reading " Drivers Education Teachers Participate In Truck Safety Pilot Project " »

A deadly truck crash struck on Interstate 64 early Wednesday morning according to reports by St. Louis Today.

Shortly before 5am a tractor-trailer was traveling westbound on the interstate. The semi was being driven by a 29 year old driver, and her husband was also in the vehicle. For reasons yet unknown, a car began traveling on the same highway in the wrong direction—eastbound on the westbound lanes. The wrong-direction traveling meant that the car was speeding straight toward the semi.

Eventually the two collided head-on. The impact caused the tractor-trailer to leave the road, hit an embankment, and catch on fire. The female driver of the truck was trapped inside and unable to escape. She died in the fire. Her husband suffered serious burns, but is expected to survive. The driver of the car was rushed to a local hospital, but he died from his injuries a few hours later.

Continue reading " Two Killed in Head –On Collision With Semi in Illinois " »

We have often discussed the problems associated with truck driver fatigue. Quite simply, truck drivers spend so many hours behind the wheel that it is imperative they take special precautions to ensure that they remain awake and alert at all times. Failure to take steps to properly account for tiredness is an extreme act of negligence.

Yet for all the attention paid to truck driver fatigue, crashes occur on our roads all too frequently caused by sleepy truckers. One such accident struck yesterday involving two Chicago semi drivers. Interstate 65 was shut down for several hours Wednesday morning because of the wreck reports WLFI News.

Around 8:30am around mile marker 186 a Chicago trucker was pulled onto the southbound shoulder of the highway. While stopped on the side, the truck was struck from behind by another semi, a refrigerated box truck filled with produce also driven by a Chicago driver.

Investigators of the accident following the crash discovered that the driver of the produce truck was fatigued while driving. He had actually fallen asleep, leading to his truck drifting onto the shoulder of the road, striking the immobile truck. That second driver was cited by police for his fatigued driving.

Both drivers sustained injuries in the crash, but fortunately they were not life threatening.

Continue reading " Trucker Fatigue Leads to Two-Semi Crash " »

The Standard Speaker discussed the truck crash last week involving the death of a Chicago trucker following an accident on Interstate 81. The accident occurred early in the morning, shortly before 6:00am last Tuesday. The truck driver was traveling along Interstate 81 near mile marker 103. He was heading north while hauling a refrigerated trailer carrying fruits in his 2001 Peterbuilt tractor truck.

The crash struck when the driver, for reasons yet unknown, drifted onto the right shoulder of the road, one mile south of the exit to Ravine. While on the shoulder the truck hit the guardrail and rode along it for nearly200 yards. Eventually the truck tipped onto the passenger side, continuing to skid along the guardrail while sideways before coming to a stop.

The driver was not wearing a seat belt at the time. He was thrown from the vehicle in the middle of the crash and died as a result.

Authorities are still investigating the circumstances leading up to the deadly crash. Towing crews have pulled the truck back to a local garage. Investigators are now examining the machine’s brakes and other important components to determine if their malfunction contributed to the accident.

Continue reading " Chicago Trucker Killed in Highway Crash " »

The Washington Times-Herald recently reported on a truck accident involving two of the largest vehicles on the road—a semi truck and a school bus. On Tuesday afternoon shortly before 4 p.m. a Washington Community school bus was traveling south along a rural road carrying many elementary students. The bus was attempting to stop and let children out after a day at school. While preparing to stop the bus turned on its caution lights.

At the same time a semi truck carrying coal was traveling in the opposite direction, northbound on the road. When the driver of the semi saw the bus’s caution light, he attempted to stop—vehicles traveling in both directions are required to stop when a bus’s caution lights are on.

However, the truck locked up and the driver lost control while attempting to slow down. As a result the truck sideswiped the bus. After that the truck jackknifed and ended up stopped blocking all lanes of traffic. A Department of Agriculture van was behind the bus when the accident occurred. The driver of the van had to swerve to miss the semi, ending up in a ditch.

When the collision occurred there were 15 to 20 students on the bus. Several students were brought to the hospital with minor injuries—however only one was kept overnight for observation. Many parents learned of the accident within minutes and rushed to the scene. Obviously there were many concerned family and friends.

Continue reading " Coal Truck Hits School Bus Injuring Twelve Students " »

The Chicago Tribune reported yesterday on the death of two bicyclists following a deadly truck accident on Tuesday. According to authorities the two bikers were walking their bicycles in Dixon, Illinois around 4pm in Dixon, a small community in north-central Illinois.

While walking along Rock Island Road near Atkinson Road, the two victims were struck by a passing fertilizer truck. Authorities are still attempting to piece together the situation to understand how the truck ran into the two walking bicyclists. Medical personnel arriving at the crash site pronounced both victims dead upon arrival at the scene. The truck driver was not hurt in the accident.

The truck crash is a reminder of a common roadway problem—drivers taking more risks in areas typically known to be less populated. Of course many accidents occur on our busy streets and highways because the increased traffic heightens the chance of collision. However, because of that, many drivers feel that there is little to no risk of accident while traveling along less busy, seemingly empty roadways. When that happens, many drivers take their guard down, leading to careless accidents that should never occur.

For example, when a truck driver gets the impression that he is on an empty, open stretch of road without any other cars or individuals in sight, he may have the tendency to take less care to avoid traveling near the road’s shoulder. Of course, that lackadaisical attitude need only take hold for a brief second before a fatal accident occurs—like the one here.

Continue reading " Two Chicago-area Bicyclists Killed in Crash With Truck " »

A woman was killed last week after a run-in with a tractor-trailer sent her SUV over the highway bridge on which she’d been traveling. Shortly before 10pm last Monday, the victim was driving an SUV on U.S. 30. A large semi was driving in front of her, and the woman attempted to pass the truck.

Witness claim that the SUV entered the southbound lane to pass the truck but the woman clipped the front of the semi as she was attempting to get back into the northbound lane in front of the semi. However, it is unclear whether the impact occurred in the middle of the merger or if the truck hit the back of the SUV after it had already merged.

The driver of the SUV lost control as a result of the crash and the car ultimately flipped over the guard rail into the Black Fork of Mohican River below. The female driver was killed. The driver of the semi truck sustained minor injuries, and none of the cattle he was hauling died in the truck crash.

Initially emergency crews were not sure if the SUV had any passengers. However divers had not found any other victims after combing the river area near the crash.

As this accident makes clear, any crash involving a large semi often includes the most devastating injuries. Our Chicago truck crash attorneys at Levin & Perconti repeatedly warn all drivers to maintain care when traveling around these machines. It is particularly important to be very careful when passing a semi while on the highway. Of course those traffic maneuvers occur frequently because trucks typically have a lower speed limit than other vehicles. However, the risk of crashing increases at those moments, so increased care is warranted.

UPI.com reported last week on a large truck roll-over that struck near I-90/I-94 on Tuesday. An animal-hauling truck hauling nearly 80 pigs tipped over after the driver lost control while behind the wheel. The semi ultimately fell over 25 feet on the Indiana Toll Road exit ramp below.

The crash killed 23 pigs that were traveling in the trailer and caused structural damage to the highway itself. The ramp that was damaged in the accident will be closed indefinitely. The scene following the crash was a bit chaotic as many of the surviving pigs were wandering around the roadways near other traffic. All things considered, it is fortunate that there was not more damage and injury following the trash. Too often the wreckage and resulting traffic problems following these truck crashes lead to secondary accidents just as deadly as the first.

Our Chicago truck accident attorneys work every day to help victims of all types following these trucking accidents. For over more than two decades our team of lawyers has developed true expertise in the ins and outs of the legal world as it pertains to semi accidents.

There is often much more to an accident that the specifics of where the crash happened and how it happened. In some cases there may have been physical problems with the vehicles that were not apparent on first sight or the company which operates the machine may have failed to comply with other safety measures as it relates to their drivers and their trucks. The prevalence of these and other legal issues are exactly why it is important to work with a truck crash lawyer if you have been in one of these accidents.

Our Chicago truck accident lawyers at Levin & Perconti have decades of experience representing victims of loss following deadly trucking accidents. Our attorneys are well aware of the cost of crashes involving the largest vehicles on the road. Most community members are aware of the risks of accidents involving trucks, because common sense dictates that high speeds and tons of machinery combine to create packages of destruction.

The fact that this truth is so well-known should make it obvious that all trucking companies and truck drivers take every possible precaution at all times to avoid deadly truck crashes. There is simply no excuse for violating basic traffic laws or exhibited other careless behavior when behind the wheel of a sixteen wheeler.

However, deadly truck accidents continue to strike our roadways day after day.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported on yet another one two days ago. Early in the morning, a woman was driving in suburban Crete, eastbound on Steger Road. The vehicle was attempting to make a right turn onto southbound Route 394. At the same time a semi was traveling south on 394.

There is a light at the intersection, and the woman had a green light while attempting to turn right. However, the truck driver completely blew the red light in his direction and barreled directly into the turning car. The unsuspecting female driver suffered the brunt of the force as the semi hit her vehicle near the driver’s side door. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.

Please contact a truck accident attorney at time that you or someone you know has been involved in an accident with one of these vehicles.

The Champaign News-Gazette reported yesterday morning on a fatal truck accident that struck on Monday afternoon in central Illinois. Around 12pm two semitrailer trucks were traveling along Illinois Route 16 in opposite directions. The driver of the southwest bound truck attempted to pass a stopped car that was in front of him. While attempting to make the pass, he entered the northeast bound lane where the second truck was traveling.

The trucks collided.

In the aftermath of the crash, both large vehicles overturned and ended up in the ditches on the side of the highway. The eastbound vehicle eventually caught fire while lying in the ditch. The driver of the truck was unable to extricate himself from the vehicle before the flames engulfed his cabin.

A passenger in the southbound truck was thrown from the truck in the crash. He was wearing a seatbelt, but the force of the collision was so strong that he was still ripped from the seat. The passenger ultimately died from his wounds, while the driver was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Our Chicago truck accident attorneys at Levin & Perconti send sincere condolences to the victims of this tragedy and their families. Our lawyers have worked for decades to assist those affected by these fatal accidents to navigate the legal issues around the incident. Depending on the circumstances of the truck crash, there are various legal rights that may have been affected. Whatever the circumstances, it is important to discuss the situation with a truck accident lawyer to ensure that no important matters are left undone.

The Miami Herald recently pointed to a new estimate from the National Safety Council that reiterates what most people intuitively know: texting and driving is a deadly combination. The total number of accidents cause by the practice continues to rise with an estimated 200,000 crashes resulting from the practice last year. In fact, a new Car & Driver magazine study found that reaction rates for drivers while texting was three to four times slower than the rate of drunk drivers.

Our Chicago truck accident attorneys at Levin & Perconti are committed to ensuring that victims of accidents on the road are legally protected when harmed by negligent truck drivers. Our office has seen more and more victims of truck accidents caused by phone distractions. The increase in these types of accidents is no doubt related to improved technology and the increasing functionality of mobile devices.

Nowadays individuals can send messages, pictures, check email, conduct research, and even watch television on their phones. The downside to these clear advances is the increased distraction that leads to deadly crashes on the road.

Those crashes are now having a unique legal impact in that business owners are open to increased legal liability when their employees cause these accidents while using their phone for business reasons.

Several cases have already been documented where companies have settled claims with victims of accidents caused by their employees using the phone for business or simply using a company-issued phone. It is important for all businesses to ensure that their employees are aware of the risk of using a phone while driving. In most cases issuing a company-wide ban on phone use while driving would serve to send a strong message that the reckless behavior is not tolerated.