Articles Posted in Illinois Truck Accident

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It is evident to our readers that truck accidents are a serious matter. We know that these are large vehicles in height and weight often traveling at very fast speeds in busy areas, like interstates. However, consider when an accident involves more than one large truck with these same conditions present. That makes an accident even more serious and dangerous, with a greater risk of potentially life-changing injuries for those involved..

Consider recent events in Coal City that were reported by CBS Chicago. The accident, occurring on Interstate 55, involved not one, but two semi-trucks. The accident resulted in one fatality when two semi-tractor-trailer trucks collided and one of the semi-trucks caught fire as a result of the accident. The accident shut down traffic in both directions. One semi-truck was carrying food, and the other was carrying automotive parts. Photos from the accidents show debris and the vehicles strewn about the interstate in both directions and on both sides of the median, exemplifying how serious the collision was.

While the cause of this truck accident is unknown at the present time, there are many common reasons that truck accidents occur, often involving negligence on the part of one or more drivers. Many accidents involve distracted drivers, fatigued and sleep-deprived drivers, intoxicated drivers, overloaded or unsafe trucks, and hit-and-run accidents.
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The severity trucking accidents leave a lasting impact on the lives of those involved. Many of these accidents, especially ones involving personal injuries caused by negligence and reckless driving, can be prevented. When seeing an accident report in the news, this is not something anyone should write off as an “everyday event.” These accidents involve real people and loss of life. Continuing discussion and legal dialogue about these issues can raise awareness and help further education about the need for safe driving and the negative impact these accidents cause.

Unfortunately, another severe accident occurred, which took the life of an Alton woman, according to The Telegraph. The woman, who was driving a SUV, died immediately upon impact when a semi-tractor double-trailer slammed into her vehicle. She was the only person in her vehicle during the accident, which occurred at the intersection of 20th Street and Martin Luther King Drive. The impact was so hard that it smashed the driver’s door and passenger door, knocked down a traffic sign in the median, and removed the bumper of the truck. Unfortunately, the victim was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident either. The crash is under investigation by the Alton Police Department and Illinois State Police.
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While we often write about the City of Chicago itself as being a major hub for the trucking industry, we need to remember that Chicagoland, including the surrounding suburbs, consists of a large area around the city. This means that while many trucks are making stops in the city itself, they are frequently traveling on roads and highways outside of the City, including downstate and the suburbs.

Reported in an article by the Chicago Tribune, a trucking accident in the Bolingbrook-Plainfield suburban area on I-55 killed a middle-aged man. The victim’s vehicle was disabled at the time and had stalled in the right northbound lane, according to both the state police and the Plainfield Fire Protection District Deputy. A Melrose Park man was driving the semi-truck and hit the victim’s vehicle while trying to get off the road. The impact of the collision sent the disabled vehicle from the right hand lane into the median wall. The semi-truck was originally on top of the vehicle, but the semi driver was able to reverse the truck off of it before fire crews arrived to the scene. The victim was trapped in the car and required heavy extrication by emergency responders. Additionally, the collision caused the semi-truck to jackknife, blocking all lanes of northbound I-55.

Another article reporting on the same accident, also by the Chicago Tribune, states that the accident occurred near Lockport Road. The driver of the disable vehicle was pronounced dead on the scene in the early evening. The driver of the semi-truck was rushed to a local hospital.
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As our frequent readers know, truck accidents often lead to serious personal injuries and deaths of victims. Knowing how dangerous these truck accidents are to the average adult, then consider the impact on the lives and safety of children and the elderly who are more vulnerable due to being physically smaller and possibly frailer. When these people are involved in a collision, the impact of the accident can be much more serious for them. Knowing this reality, it is even more important for us to work together to stop negligent and reckless driving behaviors and to encourage education of safe driving and awareness of roadway hazards. In this way, we can protect those most vulnerable and prevent future accidents.

According to an article by the Chicago Tribune, a 12-year-old was killed in a semitrailer rollover crash in Kane County. She was riding in a truck, driven by her father, when the truck left the road and rolled onto its side. The girl, who was ejected from the cab of the semi-truck, was pronounced dead at the scene, and her father was taken to a local hospital. No other vehicles were involved in this crash, and police are continuing investigation. The report does not indicate whether the girl was wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident.
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Even though winter weather conditions may finally be coming to a close soon, this does not mean that truck accidents are on the decline. Although winter weather is often a factor in increased risk for collisions, these dangerous accidents can and do happen in any type of weather or time of day. When drivers of trucks or motor vehicles are negligent or distracted, accidents are very likely to happen. With just increased attention and diligence to safety and the laws of the road, lives could be saved and injuries could be prevented.

According to a report by the Chicago Tribune, an 89-year-old man was killed, and his 87-year-old wife seriously injured in a crash with a semi-truck in Aurora. The accident occurred at the intersection of Eola Road and Diehl Road. The accident occurred in the afternoon. The man was driving west on Diehl and went through a red light at the intersection at Eola. The car and the semi-truck, that was driving north on Eola with a green light, then collided. The car was pushed across the roadway and the truck then went into another vehicle that was on Eola and attempting to turn onto Diehl.

It is very unfortunate and saddening that a preventable accident took the life of this elderly man and took him away from his beloved elderly wife. Interestingly, this is mere steps from the site of the notorious semi-truck accident that took the life of a tollway worker and seriously injured an Illinois State Trooper in winter of 2014 . Being a major suburban road and also right off of a large Chicagoland interstate, this is a high traffic area for commuters and trucks traveling their routes. Such high traffic areas require additional caution on top of what should be our already safe driving practices. It only takes a moment of inattentiveness to safety or road signs to cause an accident. In busy and high-speed areas like this intersection off of the I-88 interstate where there are many drivers, accidents can easily occur.
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It is far too often that our lawyers hear in the news about truck accidents on our Illinois highways, roads, and interstates. As a result of driver negligence, there are frequent collisions resulting in rollover accidents, crossing into opposing lanes of traffic, going off the roadways from winter weather, and too many resulting personal injuries. But for driver negligence, many personal injuries and wrongful deaths could be avoided. Through simply using caution, upholding standards of safety, and abiding by traffic laws, many lives would be saved

According to an article by the Chicago Sun-Times, a Chicago west suburban man, hailing from Cicero, and another driver were injured in a crash between a semi-truck and a Illinois Department of Transportation truck. The accident occurred in Kankankee County on Interstate 57. The semi-truck was southbound on the interstate when it crossed the median and crashed into the IDOT truck that was in the northbound lane. Illinois State Police reported this was near milepost 304. As a result of the collision, the IDOT driver had to be extricated from his truck and hospitalized. The Cicero man, who was driving the southbound semi, was also injured and taken to a hospital. Authorities cited him for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.
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Commercial trucks transport a wide variety of goods in their employment to the diverse array of businesses and services offered throughout our nation. If you take notice to the types of trucks you see on the road, you can see that just in any given day you will see trucking companies that transport goods far different from each other. Some are carrying food products from different locations, others carrying furniture, machinery and tools for industries, some have large furniture, and others may even have to carry dangerous goods as part of their job.

Oftentimes the law imposes a higher standard on those conducting what are considered “inherently dangerous activities.” This is known as strict liability. Tortfeasors are strictly liable for activities which are extremely dangerous in their very nature. Some common examples include crop dusting, blasting, or transporting toxic chemicals. If an injury results from inherently dangerous activities like these, and the injury is one that is typical and expected of such an activity, the negligent party may be held strictly liable through a personal injury lawsuit.

In a recent report by Fox News, a hazardous chemical spill was the result of a tractor trailer overturning on Interstate 57 in Champaign. As a result of the spill, over 100 residents had to leave their homes because of the danger posed by the chemical’s vapors. The chemical that spilled was dimethylaminopropylamine, which is a chemical used in cleaners and shampoos. The chemical is extremely flammable, and the vapors from it can cause health complications.
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Our attorneys were saddened by last year’s Chicago suburban truck crash that injured an Illinois state trooper and took the life of the tollway worker he was assisting. Since this crash occurred, we have been dedicated to keeping informed of the legal developments so that these victims can obtain justice for this wrongdoing and that the roads may be an overall safer place.

According to a recent article by the Chicago Tribune, the truck driver responsible for the crash has been found guilty of driving while impaired. The court ruled that the trucker was found guilty of fatigued driving and violating safety laws, making him guilty of three of the four felonies he faced. The court dismissed counts that he had falsified his logbook, citing that there was lack of evidence.

Authorities reported he had been driving or on duty in significant excess of the hours allowed under the law, according to the same article. The judge reiterated in court that the defendant had been driving or on duty for at least 18 or 20 hours over the course of 26 hours. This was in violation of laws that limit a commercial operator to 11 hours behind the wheel over a 14-hour shift. When he struck the Illinois State Police squad car stopped along the side of the road, the police car’s gas tank was ruptured. This sparked flames and explosions. The truck driver had been hauling 14,000 pound rolls of steel, and upon collision, one came free and struck the tollway worker’s vehicle, killing him. Even though the tollway worker and police officer’s vehicles had the emergency flashers activated and were visible on the side of the road, the truck driver did not heed them any attention because he had fallen asleep.
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Last January, our lawyers were shocked and saddened by news that an Illinois toll way worker’s life was needlessly ended as the result of an accident involving a fatigued truck driver. A state trooper was assisting a tollway worker in the right-hand lane of eastbound I-88 near Eola Road when another semi went off the road and crashed into them, causing a fire that engulfed the two individuals. The trooper suffered serious injuries and the tollway worker died as a result of this crash.

Now, the National Transit Safety Board has issued its preliminary findings about the suburban crash, reported in a recent article by the Chicago Sun-Times. According to the report, the tollway worker was the first Illinois Tollway employee killed on the job since 2003. Senator Durbin originally called for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to investigate the accident to determine if the driver and his employer violated rules limiting the number of hours a driver can be on the road and to take steps ensuring every trucking company complies with the law. . The driver was charged with four felony counts of operating a commercial motor vehicle while impaired or fatigued, making a false report of a record and duty status, and driving beyond the 14- and 11-hour rules.
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While winter weather may be picturesque when sitting in the comforts and warmth of our own homes, it causes extremely dangerous conditions on our roadways. Drivers, especially when on busy roads like interstates, face many dangers during wintertime in Illinois. Snow can cause decreased visibility and slippery surfaces, and often leads to severe weather-related collisions.

A recent article by The Herald-News reported that a multiple vehicle crash occurred on Interstate 55 near Gardner. One of the individuals involved explained how he was looking out his passenger-side window to observe the semitrailer passing him on the right and then couldn’t see anything at all. Winter weather conditions created repeated areas of whiteouts on the roads. The individual also witnessed a semi-truck flip over on its side and skid along the road. His car was hit several times, but it was not safe to get out of the car to check on damage; behind them was a long chain of cars. According to the report this witness’ vehicle was the fourth or fifth car involved in a chain-reaction multiple vehicle crash. When the chain reaction occurred, cars then began in a domino-like fashion veering left and right off into ditches, which continued down the line of cars for some way.

The Illinois State Police has reported that at least 16 vehicles were involved in the accident, including a FedEx semitrailer. The chain reaction collision occurred at mile post 227 on I-55 south. The accident was so large that emergency responders were called in from several area municipalities. Several victims suffered serious and life-threatening injuries. One individual needed extraction from his vehicle. Emergency responders arrived to attend to 10 vehicles, but within minutes the chain reaction increased in number due to the low visibility conditions. Due to the conditions and the large number of vehicles involved, cars kept swerving into ditches to avoid the cluster of crashed cars already on the road, which then caused the number in the accident to continue to increase in number. The accident is still under investigation by authorities.
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