Illinois Truck Accident Lawyer Blog

The Telegraph Online reported last week on an Illinois truck accident. The early morning crash struck in Central Illinois shortly before 6:30 a.m. A 19-year old driver was in a westbound SUV on Illinois Route 143 when he drifted across the center line. A large garbage truck was headed eastbound—it slammed into the SUV. The driver suffered serious injuries and had to be cut from the car.

Officials are still piecing together the possible reasons that the car drifted from its lane. The driver was a diabetic and may have had a low blood sugar level at the time. The condition could have caused him to pass out. Also, the young man had just finished an overnight work shift. General fatigue could be involved. Alternatively, there was heavy fog in the area at the time, which may have obstructed the view of the driver. In fact, emergency helicopter crews were prevented from assisting in the effort specifically because of the foggy conditions.

Whatever the case, the Illinois truck crash serves as a reminder that accidents occur each day on our roadways for any number of reasons. The alertness of the driver and the complications caused by weather are some of the most common factors. With a blizzard expected to hit the Chicago area this week, it is vital that all drivers account for these and similar risks.

Continue reading " Illinois Truck Accident Leaves Teen in Critical Condition " »

Tragic news out of southern Illinois of a truck crash that took the lives of two local women was reported yesterday in Tri-State Media.

A 42-year old female driver was traveling east on Illinois Route 13. A Peterbuilt semi-trailer was traveling behind her on Route 13. The woman stopped her car in traffic in preparation for making a left turn onto Old Shawneetown Road. Unfortunately the semi driver behind her failed to see her stop; he did not slow down. His truck slammed into the back of the woman’s car.

The collision forced the car into oncoming traffic. A westbound Freightliner semi crashed into the passenger side of the vehicle. This second impact sent the car careening back into the original negligent truck. The impact caused severe damage to the Frieghtliner; the truck burst into flames following the collision.

This horrific Illinois truck crash ultimately claimed the lives of the female car driver and her 43-year old passenger. Both were ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Freightliner was brought to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, but the other truck driver remained unharmed.

Continue reading " Two Southern Illinois Women Killed Three-Vehicle Truck Crash " »

The Bloomington Pantagraph reported this week on a tragic truck accident involving a pick-up truck, semi-trailer, and school bus.

The Illinois truck crash struck on Interstate 74 on Saturday morning as the school bus was carrying the girl’s varsity basketball team to a weekend game. The pick-up truck was filled with four senior students, including the driver.

As the pick-up was headed down the interstate it drifted across the median and into oncoming traffic. It was at that point that the truck clipped a semi-trailer that was traveling on the highway. The initial impact sent the pick-up out of control, eventually slamming head-on into the school bus. The driver and one of the passengers in the back seat were killed in the collision. The other two pick-up passengers were severely injured and transported to local hospitals. Fortunately none of the students on the school bus or semi trailer were injured.

Investigations into the cause of the crash remain under investigation. However, authorities are claiming that the weather was likely involved. Several other cars experienced accidents in the area around the same time.

Continue reading " Illinois Truck Accident Kills Two Teens " »

Necessary improvements in trucking safety often come only in the aftermath of tragic accidents. When deadly truck crashes strike, many members of the community step up to pressure decision-makers to enact procedural changes that likely should have been implemented sooner

Earlier this month we posted the story of a runaway gravel truck that took the lives of a family of three. The gravel truck involved was headed down a steep mountain pass when the driver lost control of the vehicle. The truck careened off the road and into a small wooden house shared by a young couple and their three year old son. The entire family was killed, and the community was shaken by the tragic crash.

Now that community is stepping up efforts to ensure similar accidents are avoided, reports KEYT News. A local governmental association is asking the state legislature to enact a ban on certain types of trucks from using the dangerous stretch of road involved in this truck crash. Lawmakers are considering the proposal. In addition, the local community is amping up enforcement and education efforts. Many drivers in the area are simply unaware of the dangers of driving in steep areas or fail to abide by current restrictions on speeding and lane usage put in place to ensure safe travel.

Continue reading " Truck Crashes Causes City to Re-evaluate Safety Measures " »

A 65-year old bicyclist was killed last week after a run-in with a large tanker. According to the Chicago Tribune, the deadly truck crash occurred shortly before 6 p.m. in the eastbound lane of the 300 block of west Pershing Road—near the Wentworth Gardens neighbors.

Police arrived at the scene to find the victim on the side of the road—his demolished bicycle was nearby. Apparently the victim was hit by a truck that drove away following the impact. A semi-trailer was spotted speeding in the area right before the impact by witness. The truck involved in the crash reportedly had a red extended cab. Investigators are still looking for the driver of the trailer to learn more about the deadly truck crash.

These sorts of accidents are often caused by the carelessness of drivers. When a truck driver gets the impression that he is on an empty, open stretch of road he may have the tendency to take less care to avoid entering the road’s shoulder. Of course, that negligent attitude need only take hold for a brief second before a fatal accident occurs—like the one here.

Continue reading " Chicago Biker Killed By Hit & Run Semi-Trailer " »

My Fox Chicago reported yesterday on another Chicago causality caused by a truck crash on local roadways.

The accident occurred early Wednesday morning in West Chicago on Powis Road. About twenty minutes before 4 a.m. a pick-up truck struck the back end of a semi-trailer. Both vehicles were southbound, with the semi traveling down in front. According to investigators the pick-up truck hit the back of the trailer on the truck. That initial collision caused the pick-up to spin out of control. It ended up sliding underneath the trailer.

The pick-up driver was dead upon arrival of emergency personnel. The truck driver was not harmed. Information is still being gathered to better understand what might have caused the first impact between the two vehicles.

Continue reading " Chicago Truck Crash Kills One Local Driver " »

All truck accidents present the high likelihood of causing extreme damage because of the size of the vehicle and the weight of the metal that bears down. Obviously no other vehicle on the road is capable of causing as much destruction when not handled properly. It is for that reason that all those involved in truck travel—from the manufacturers to the operators and drivers—must ensure that all steps are taken to ensure traveler safety.

That demand is even more paramount when a truck is hauling a load that poses unique risks—such as tankers carrying gasoline or other toxic substance. Accidents involving the machines are often the absolute worst on the road. The substance is capable of intensifying whatever damage was initially caused by the crash.

A similar high-risk crash struck on the Bishop Ford last week.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times the tanker truck crash occurred last Thursday morning near the south suburb of Dalton. Shortly before 9 a.m. the large truck collided with two cars in the northbound lanes of the Bishop Ford, near the Sibley Boulevard exit. One of the vehicles received only minimal contact, but the second car was crushed.

According to emergency responders, one woman had to be cut out of the most severely damaged vehicle; amazingly, she was not seriously hurt. In another turn of luck, the larger tanker did not leak fuel.

Continue reading " Tanker Truck Crash on Bishop Ford Expressway " »

WNYT News reported on a tragic collision that took the life of a truck driver last week. The truck accident involved an Amtrak train that left from Chicago and headed toward Albany. Near Dunkirk, New York that train came upon a road intersection with a tractor-trailer stopped on the tracks. The train was unable to stop in time to avoid a collision, and the truck failed to move.

The fast-moving train demolished the large truck upon impact. The driver of the truck was killed. Fortunately, none of the 240 passengers were injured.

The problem of cars and trucks attempting to beat trains seems to be growing. Train operators note that total train accident deaths in just the first five months of 2010 were almost the total for the entire year in 2009. With a 1,000-ton train traveling down the track at 70 miles per hour, there is almost no such thing as a “minor” train accident. Each incident is extremely costly.

Continue reading " Train From Chicago Hit By Truck, Driver Killed " »

Far too many of the Chicago truck crash stories reported on this blog have a similar theme at their core: they were caused by tired truckers. Time and again drivers behind the wheels of these big rigs make various mistakes that would likely have been avoided if the trucker was properly rested. This driver fatigue is a well-known and well studied problem. However, steps to eliminate the concern have often fallen short.

For one thing, there is clear disagreement within the industry about the root cause of the fatigue. One line of thought argues that the problem is caused in large part by truck drivers with undiagnosed cases of sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a condition where the sufferer has repeated breathing disturbances while sleeping which results in poor sleep quality and much higher than normal feelings of sleepiness while awake.

Many in the industry suggest that sleep apnea is a major contributing factor to trucker fatigue. While it is undoubtedly true that some truckers suffer from the problem, little evidence suggests that it is a major cause of fatigue. Askthetrucker.com provided a comprehensive critique of the issue, explaining that the best data indicates that truckers suffer sleep apnea at the same rest as the rest of the population. Even most importantly, the data reveals that those drivers did not show a higher risk of causing truck accidents.

The truth remains much simpler: lack of sleep is the main cause of driver fatigue.

Continue reading " Trucker Fatigue Caused Mainly By Lack of Sleep, Not Sleep Apnea " »

The Madison St. Clair Record reported last week on a settlement recently reached between parties following a truck crash lawsuit. The suit was brought by a surviving woman following the death of both her husband and infant son in a tragic crash.

A negligent truck driver was behind the wheel of a tow truck in November 2008. The man had been drinking before the accident. His truck came upon the stopped car of the two victims. Their vehicle had run out of fuel and they were parked on the side of the road. The infant was fastened inside the vehicle while the father was outside inspecting the situation.

The truck driver did not properly take the stopped car into account, ultimately slamming into it. The car was pushed onto the father outside, crushing him. The infant inside suffered severe injuries in the impact and died shortly afterwards.

The trial had not yet begun when the parties reached an undisclosed settlement in the matter. The surviving wife had sued the driver, his employer, and the owner of the bars that served the driver before the fatal accident.

Continue reading " Illinois Truck Accident Lawsuit Settles Before Trial " »

Santa Ynez Valley News reported late last week on the conclusion of the investigation into a deadly truck accident that left a family of three dead. The crash was a community tragedy which has spurred changes in the local safety protocols.

A large semi-truck was traveling on nearby Highway 154 one night last summer when the vehicle’s brakes went out. The driver was unable to stop the fast-moving machine. The truck barreled through an intersection before coming upon the small wooden home where the family of three lay sleeping. The truck crashed through the home, killing each of those inside, including a young 8-year old boy.

Authorities began a long investigation process following the crash in order to determine exactly what happened. The accident has also spurred in-depth study into the safety of winding rural roads.

As a result of that study, hazardous waste is now banned from using the particularly winding stretch of roads on the highways in the area. A “rumble strip” has also been installed in parts of the highway’s center line to alert drivers when they are drifting out of their lane. Trucker warning signs are still being installed in various locations to make truckers aware of new size limits for travel in that area.

Continue reading " Runaway Truck Crash That Killed Three Spurs Changes in Road Safety " »

Last week we posted on a tragic trucking accident that occurred in the parking lot of the Aldi headquarters near Chicago.

The victim worked for the trucking company that delivers Aldi products to each individual store. On Friday the man was walking in the parking lot when another driver was backing up a semi-truck in preparation of moving it to a new location. While the semi was moving backward, the driver did not see the victim walking behind the truck. As a result, the truck backed over the walking man. 

On Friday the son of the victim filed a lawsuit against the driver of the truck and the leasing company which owned the vehicle according to the Geneva Patch. There will be little delay in the matter as a motion hearing has already been scheduled and will take place on Monday morning.

Continue reading " Family of Victim in Parking Lot Truck Accident Files Lawsuit " »

Occasionally truck crashes are products of true accident, with no one to blame. However, negligent actions by one or more people is actually at the core of the incident in more cases than many realize. A trucker’s poor driving ability is one of the most obvious, and egregious, forms of potentially harmful negligence. It remains self-evident that no one should be behind the wheel of one of these machines if they are incapable of safely driving the semitrailer.

However, poor truck drivers continue to take up space on our roads. One of them caused a truck accident yesterday according to reports from WHPTV News. Two semitrailers were parked alongside Interstate 81 as overflow from the full rest stop nearby. As they stopped there a third semi was traveling along the highway. As the third truck came upon that point on the road the truck swerved to the shoulder and clipped both stopped machines.

The driver of the erratic semi was taken to the hospital for his injuries. Fortunately, no one else was hurt in the truck crash.

Fellow truck drivers explained that the crash was only a matter of time, because they had previously noticed the erratic traveling of the driver. Talking to one another through CB radios, they reported comments, “Look at this guy. He’s swerving all over.”

One explained, “I would stay away from him. He would speed up and slow down. Around bends he had trouble negotiating turns.”

Continue reading " Three-Semi Accident Caused By Erratic Truck Driver " »

A new truck accident lawsuit was filed recently in connection with a tragic crash that took two lives last summer. Knox News is reporting on the latest filing made by the husband of a woman killed along with her 3 year old granddaughter. The truck crash was similar to so many others in that it was caused by stalled traffic on a backed up highway.

A previous wreck had stopped the victim’s small Mazda 5 car behind a long line other vehicles. It was then that the truck driver was traveling behind them in a company flat-bed truck after finishing dropping off a load of cargo. There was a two-mile straightway before the line of cars—meaning that the truck driver should have seen the road situation up ahead. Unfortunately, the driver failed to recognize that cars were stopped ahead. As a result he smashed into the Mazda at around 55 miles per hour. The woman and her granddaughter were killed and the woman’s husband was also seriously injured in the wreck.

The state’s Highway Patrol has already issued statement claiming that the crash was the fault of the truck driver.

Continue reading " Trucking Firm Sued After Deadly Crash " »

The Daily Chronicle reported earlier this week on emerging new details concerning a tragic trucking accident. A 53-year old Chicago area man was killed in the parking lot of the Aldi headquarters building in Batavia.

The victim worked for the trucking company that delivers Aldi products to each individual store. On Friday the man was walking in the parking lot when another driver was backing up a semi-truck in preparation of moving it to a new location. While the semi was moving backward, the driver did not see the victim walking behind the truck. As a result, the truck backed over the walking man.

Police are still investigating to determine exactly what went wrong at the Chicago-based headquarters. Clearly certain safety protocols went awry at the facility leading to the death. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is working to figure out the safety breach to determine if changes need to be made.

Continue reading " Semi-Truck Kills Man in Parking Lot " »