Police cited bus operator Terry L. Cook with failure to reduce speed to avoid a motor vehicle crash. He pleaded guilty to the charge and was placed on supervision for 90 days.

Plaintiff Alphonzo Gordon says he sustained serious and permanent injuries during the Illinois bus accident. He is accusing the bus driver of negligence, including failure to yield the right of way, failure to use ordinary care to ensure other motorists’ safety, and failure to warn of the bus’s approach. Gordon also claims that Cook drove his bus at an unreasonable and improper speed, followed more closely than what was prudent, and operated a vehicle that was equipped with inadequate brakes.

Gordon is seeking over $50,000 against the bus crash defendants. Bus passengers Britanny Grant and Zavonda Murray are also suing for Illinois personal injury damages.

Illinois Bus Accidents
As the operators of common carrier vehicles, commercial bus drivers owe a duty of care to their passengers and other motorists and pedestrians to exercise even more caution than other motorists so that Chicago, Illinois motor vehicle crashes do not happen.

Getting hit by a vehicle as large as a commercial bus can prove catastrophic for the victims. It can also cause serious injury to bus passengers who are likely not wearing safety belts to keep them secure during a rear-end crash, a side-impact crash, a rollover crash, or any other kind of bus crash.

Metro-East man files lawsuit after bus collision, KMOV, January 28, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Madison County Transit

Truck and Bus Drivers, FMCSA

Their car was turning left when they were struck by a speeding Toyota Camry that had its lights turned off. The Toyota’s driver, a 55-year-old man from Skokie, had just been involved in a hit-and-run crash.

The Molinas say that their son, who was secured in a car seat, was partially thrown through the back window due to the force of the collision. He was pronounced dead at Children’s Memorial Hospital.

Police questioned the Camry driver yesterday. So far, he has been charged with negligent driving related to this deadly Chicago car accident and for driving too fast for the conditions at the time and leaving the scene of the first auto collision. Police say that before these dual car crashes, the motorist had a clean driving record since getting his driver's license in 1999.

Chicago Car Accidents
Every year, people are killed or seriously injured in Chicago, Illinois car accidents. It is life shattering to lose someone in such a senseless manner. Negligent motorists can be held liable for Chicago injury or wrongful death.

Common causes of Cook County Car Accidents:

• Drunk driving
• Speeding
• Hit and run
• Driving faster than current road or weather conditions
• Text messaging
• Cell phone conversations
• Failure to obey traffic signs
• Failure to pay attention to road conditions

Three dead -- including child -- in NW Side wreck, Chicago Sun-Times, February 2, 2010

NW Side crash takes 3 lives, Chicago Tribune, February 2, 2010

Related Web Resource:
CyberDrive Illinois

HLDI, which is affiliated with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, speculates that one reason the number of motor vehicle crashes isn’t being impacted by the texting and handheld cell phone bans is because it is likely that more people are using handsfree devices now that handheld ones are off limit and/or have been portrayed as more dangerous. However, HLDI and IIHS president Adrian says more research related to these new findings is required.

Earlier this month, the National Safety Council announced that about 1.6 million motor vehicle crashes a year (that’s 28% of all traffic accidents) are caused by text messaging and cell phone conversations. The US Department of Transportation reports that almost 500,000 injuries and 6,000 fatalities happen a year because of just these two distracted driving habits. This week, the federal government issued—effectively immediately—a national ban making it illegal for commercial truckers and bus drivers to text and drive at the same time.

Our Chicago car accident lawyers are very aware of the dangers posed by distracted driving. Please contact us to discuss your cell phone accident case.

Drivers no longer can plead ignorance when it comes to the dangers of talking on the cell phone, texting, or surfing the Web while driving. Distracted driving is negligent driving.

Study: Distracted driving laws don't stop crashes, Washington Post, January 29, 2010

National Safety Council Estimates that At Least 1.6 Million Crashes are Caused Each Year by Drivers Using Cell Phones and Texting, NSC, January 12, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Focus Driven

State Cell Phone Driving Laws, Governors Highway Safety Association

There of the van’s passengers were taken to John H Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County. Another three were transported to Mount Sinai Hospital. A seventh passenger also ran away from the crash site.

The young driver may be charged with DUI and child endangerment because two of the vehicles passengers are minors. Other charges may also be field.

Chicago Car Accident Injuries
Injuries from a Cook County, Illinois car accident will likely require medical attention. This costs money. There is no reason why you should have to pay for medical expenses that were caused by another party’s negligence or carelessness.

Once you’ve had your injuries tended to, one of the first tasks you should attend to is to contact a Chicago, Illinois motor vehicle accident lawyer right away. The personal attorney you decide to retain can work with accident reconstructionists to determine what caused the traffic crash. Was it a negligent driver? A careless auto manufacturer? Is the Chicago intersection where the car accident occurred poorly designed?

Your Chicago injury lawyer can also work with medical professionals that can assess the seriousness of your injuries and determine how much time and how much money it will take for you to recover. It is important that you have this information before you attempt to settle your Illinois car accident case. You should let your attorney speak with the other parties’ insurers and legal representatives.

DUI, child endangerment charges pending in Ike crash, Chicago-Sun Times, January 18, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Chicago I-290

CyberDrive, Illinois

Last week, Toyota recalled about 2.3 million autos over the accelerator defect, which it says is a separate issue from the one that prompted its recall of 4.2 million Lexus and Toyota vehicles last November. That recall was issued because of concern that a loose floor mat on the driver’s side could cause the gas pedal to jam and the vehicle to accelerate to extremely high speeds. Our Chicago auto products liability lawyers have been following that auto defect story in our Chicago, Illinois car accident blog site.

Since last year’s massive Toyota recall, ABC News reports that there have been over 60 new incidents involving runaway Toyotas, including one fatal car crash that killed four people on December 26. The floor mats were not a factor in that collision.

Vehicles that are part of this latest recall in include Toyota’s:

• Sequoia: ’08 – ’10 models
• RAV4: ’09 – ’10 models
• Matrix: ’09– ’10 models
• Tundra: ’07 – ’10 models
• Corolla: ’09 – ‘10 models
• Avalon: ’05 –’10 models
• Pontiac Vibe: ‘09 model
• Highlander: ’10 model
• Camry: ’07 – ’10 models

Gas pedal defects, poorly fitting floor mats, faulty seat belts, defective air bags, weak roofs, seatback malfunctions, defective tires, engine malfunctions, and faulty breaks are auto defects that can cause serious injuries and deaths.

Toyota Recall Prompts Automaker to Suspend Sales, CNN, January 26, 2010

TOYOTA RECALL: Reports of Runaway Cars, ABC News, January 21, 2010

Toyota Recalls Millions of Motor Vehicles, MyFoxLA.com, January 21, 2010

Related Web Resource:
Toyota Motor Corp.

Quinn credits the Illinois State Police, local police, and the Illinois Department of Transportation for the drop in traffic deaths. He says they have aggressively targeted violations involving speeding, improper lane use, safety belts, drunk driving, drugged driving, and following too closely in order to save more lives. He noted that programs focusing on impaired driving, teen driving, and safety belts also contributed to the decrease in motor vehicle fatalities. Hopefully the decline in Illinois traffic deaths will continue in 2010.

Two new traffic laws that could help the auto injury and death rates continue to go down are the law that bans text messaging, emailing, and going online while driving (an ordinance banning cell phone driving was passed in Chicago in October 2008) and the one that prohibits drivers 18 and under (with a graduated license or an instruction permit) from using a cell phone when operating a motor vehicle. All motorists are now prohibited from talking on a cellular device in construction and school zones.

However, in order for the laws to have an effect, motorists will have to abide by them. In addition to state efforts to reduce distracted driving crashes, the federal government is stepping up efforts to increase awareness about the dangers of texting and talking on a cell phone when operating any kind of motor vehicle. Last week, the National Safety Council and the US Department of Transportation announced that they were launching FocusDriven, a national nonprofit group focused on making more people aware of the dangers of distracted driving. The US DOT has also launched Distraction.gov, a government Web site also focused on providing information about the need for motorists to stop engaging in distracted driving.

Negligent driving that causes catastrophic Illinois auto collision can be grounds for a Chicago car accident lawsuit.

Traffic Fatalities Drop Below 1,000 for First Time Since 1921, Illinois State Police, January 4, 2010

Illinois sees drop in traffic fatalities, Goedwardsville.com, January 11, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Distraction.gov

FocusDriven

16-year-old Corey Diamond died from his injuries. His friend Elliot Cellini is still recovering from a traumatic brain injury. Brandon Forshall sustained non-life threatening injuries during the car accident, which occurred at the Wheeling-Buffalo Grove border.

The catastrophic car collision occurred when U-Haul driver Ralph Lewis drove through a red light while trying to escape police and crashed straight into the vehicle carrying the teenagers. Lewis had rented the truck so he could fill it up with stolen goods to pay back money for drug-related debts.

Witnesses say that Lewis was driving through the suburbs at a very high-speed as a Gurnee police officer chased him. At different times, Lewis may have been driving anywhere from 50-80 mph. He was convicted of first-degree murder in 2008 and is serving a 45-year-prison term.

Wheeling’s board is expected to approve settlements of $18,000 to Diamond’s estate for his wrongful death, as well as $40,000 to Cellini and $2,000 to Forshall for their personal injuries. Late last year, the village of Buffalo Grove’s board approved settlements of $50,000 to Forshall, $500,000 to Diamond’s estate, and $1,000,000 to Cellini. Gurnee settled all of the lawsuits for $50,000. The village of Buffalo Grove is paying the plaintiffs the most because their officers were the lead agents involved in the police chase, which they failed to call off before it turned deadly.

Last year, Diamond’s mother, Melanie, spoke about how his son’s death has left her family “forever incomplete.” Cellini says his personal injuries from the accident have placed him in a “personal prison."

There may be more than one party who should be held liable for your Chicago car accident injuries or your loved one’s wrongful death.

Villages to settle lawsuit in fatal car chase case, Daily Herald, January 19, 2010

U-Haul driver convicted of murder in chase, fatal crash, Chicago Tribune, July 25, 2008

Related Web Resources:
Village of Wheeling, Illinois

Village of Buffalo Grove, Illinois

Village of Gurnee, Illinois

In April, four people were injured and 34-year-old Lisa Richter died in an Illinois car accident when a pickup truck drove past a red light that had snow covering it. The pickup truck struck the woman’s vehicle as she made a left-hand turn.

Oswego Police Detective Rob Sherwood says he doesn’t think the Illinois traffic crash would have happened if the snow wasn’t obstructing the light from truck driver Alex Dyche's view. Richter’s fiancé, Robert Leathers, filed an Illinois car accident lawsuit against Dyche. Leathers sustained significant injuries during the Oswego car crash.

Meantime, the Illinois Department is pushing cities to use LED lights at traffic intersections where there are red light cameras.

Depending on the direction that snow might be blowing the wind, visibility on one side of a two-sided traffic light might be obscured by snow, making motorists more vulnerable to injury accidents. In some states, transportation officials are having workers use brooms to clear the lights' lenses. They are also considering placing sloping snow shields on the lenses of the traffic lights so the snow won’t accumulate on them.

LED Signals Seen as Potential Hazard, NY Times, January 1, 2010

Winter hazard in new LED signals, Chicago Tribune, December 29, 2009

Related Web Resources:
CyberDrive Illinois

Illinois Department of Transportation

The SUV drove into a ditch before partially rolling over. According to the Cook County Sheriff’s office, Sord’s BAC was nearly three times the legal limit.

Mejia, a New Lenox resident and a University of Illinois at Chicago student, sustained multiple injuries before she as pronounced dead at a Harvey Hospital. Sord was treated and later released from an Oak Lawn hospital for cuts and a broken wrist.

Sord and Mejia were formerly used to date but her mother says they broke up in August. Their families did not approve of their relationship.

Cook County Car Accident Cases
A person accused of driving drunk can face criminal charges and be sued for Cook County personal injury or wrongful death if someone was injured or killed. Driving under the influence of alcohol is extremely dangerous and destroys the lives of the victims, their families, and the drunk driver, who not only faces prison time but must live with the guilt of knowing that someone else died because of the motorist’s recklessness and carelessness.

Just last week, Ali Hosseini, a man who was charged with drunk driving after he allegedly struck a motorcyclist in 2007, now faces upgraded charges of aggravated DUI and reckless homicide after the victim died on January 2. Keith Kreinik underwent over 20 surgeries and spent over two years in treatment for the injuries he sustained during the Chicago car accident.

Hosseini, who had been free on bond, was taken back into custody. His bond was increased to $100,000. He was allegedly under the influence of heroin, alcohol, codeine, and morphine at the time of the tragic Northwest Side crash.

High alcohol level cited in fatal crash, Chicago Tribune, January 2, 2010

Man charged in fatal crash, Southtown Star, January 2, 2010

Bond raised for man accused of DUI in 2007 crash, Chicago Breaking News, January 9, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Motor Vehicle Safety, CDC

Impaired Driving, NHTSA

The motor vehicle accident made national headlines after Schuler drove the wrong-way for nearly two miles, disregarding signs and ignoring the warnings of other drivers. According to a toxicology report, Schuler had marijuana in her system and the equivalent of 10 liquor shots in her bloodstream. She and the kids were coming home from a camping trip when the auto collision happened. A broken bottle of vodka was discovered in the minivan’s wreckage.

The wrongful death lawsuit accuses Schuler of reckless, wanton, and willful actions, driving while under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and disregarding other motorists' warnings that she was driving her minivan the wrong-way. According to the civil complaint, the Bastardis experienced mental trauma, terror, pain, suffering, and serious personal injuries prior to their death. Schuler’s brother Warren Hance is also a wrongful death defendant. He owned the minivan that Schuler was driving.

Schuler’s husband Daniel refuses to accept autopsy findings that his wife was drunk and high. He says an undiagnosed medical problem may have caused her erratic behavior that day. However, according to one report, he told police his wife occasionally smoked pot to alleviate stress.

Suit Filed in Wrong-Way Crash That Killed 8 on Taconic, NY Times, December 10, 2009

Loyal To The End: Grieving Schuler Denies Reports, WCBSTV, August 7, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

According to police, Lorusso’s blood-alcohol concentration was almost three times the legal limit and he also had marijuana in his system when he lost control of his vehicle and struck two trees. Godee was riding in the front-passenger seat. The two teenagers riding in the back seat sustained injuries.

The Illinois car crash lawsuit is accusing Lorusso of negligent driving and willfully ignoring his passengers’ safety. In the criminal case against him, Lorusso has pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence of drugs, aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol, reckless homicide, and driving under the combined influence of alcohol and drugs. He is currently free on bond.

One of the passengers that survived the catastrophic Illinois car wreck is suing Lorusso for Kane County personal injury. 17-year-old Chelsea Mertz, a St. Charles resident, sustained a traumatic brain injury and broke her jaw during the June car wreck. Her Illinois car accident claims that Lorusso was driving over 40 mph above the speed limit, on the wrong side of the road, and was under the influence of pot and alcohol. Lorusso’s father is also a defendant of the lawsuit, which accuses him of neglecting to prevent his intoxicated son from driving the other teens home.

Mertz is undergoing rehabilitative therapy to treat her brain injury. Doctors had to surgically rewire her jaw. It is unclear whether the effects of her traumatic brain injury are permanent.

Driver in fatal crash sued for millions, The Chronicle, December 22, 2009

Survivor of fatal St. Charles crash sues driver, Daily Herald, August 7, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Teen Drivers, Motor Vehicle Safety

CyberDrive Illinois

The family’s Illinois wrongful death lawsuit is holding Kane County responsible for the Sugar Grove Township car accident because cops did not arrest Knots on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs when she was briefly apprehended just 15 minutes before the deadly Illinois traffic accident. McKenzie was pronounced dead at the Sugar Grove crash site.

Cops stopped Knotts after receiving complaints that she was driving erratically, including operating her vehicle on the shoulder of Route 47. Her pickup truck struck Mackenzie’s van head-on when she drove into oncoming traffic.

Knotts was initially cited for driving in the wrong lane and failing to reduce speed to avoid an accident but the charges against her have been dropped for now. After hearing police testimony in May, a coroner's jury blamed Knotts for McKenzie's death, which they called a homicide.

Illinois Car Accident Lawsuits
There is so much to consider when filing an Illinois car accident lawsuitt An experienced Chicago car crash lawyer will know what to do to successfully pursue your recovery, including gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, negotiating with the other party’s insurer, and filing your personal injury/wrongful death claim/lawsuit on time.

Obtaining compensation for your car crash injuries or your loved one’s death can help you cover accidents costs, medical expenses, and other damages and losses.

Kane County sued over fatal crash, Daily Herald, December 17, 2009

Man dies in 2-car crash, Northwest Herald, March 21, 2009

Related Web Resource:
Kane County, Illinois

Authorities will be allowed to stop a driver if they suspect that he or she is texting. They also can look at your PDA or cell phone to determine whether you were texting, IMing, or online.

In the last year, safety and transportation officials have spoken about the dangers that texting while driving presents, including increasing a driver’s risk of causing a deadly motor vehicle crash. On Tuesday, the Obama Administration launched distraction.gov, which discusses the dangers caused by distracted driving. According to distraction.gov, the three main types of distractions while driving are:

Manual – results in the motorist taking at least one hand off the steering wheel.
Visual – the driver’s eyes are off the road.
Cognitive – the driver’s mind is not focused on driving.

Texting while driving involves at least two of these distractions. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says over one-fourth of the 1.2 million auto collisions that occur each year in the US involve a distracted driver.

Our Chicago, Illinois car accident lawyers have blogged in the past about the risks of texting while driving and the statistics which support the claim that way too many people are getting hurt or dying because drivers can’t control the compulsion to send and receive texts just long enough to arrive safely at their destinations. We are hoping that more drivers will abide by this new ban and refrain from texting while driving.

Unfortunately, not only do many texting motorists forget that this seemingly harmless activity can kill people, but also they can be held liable for Chicago, Illinois personal injury or wrongful death if they cause a catastrophic car crash that hurts or kills another person.

Obama administration unveils new effort to combat distracted driving, DetNews, December 29, 2009

How to deal with the new Illinois ban on texting while driving, Daily Herald, December 28, 2009

Related Web Resources:

Distraction.gov

Scary statistics on teen texting, calling while driving, The Seattle Times, November 17, 2009

Cell Phone Driving Laws, Governors Highway Safety Association

The two women were University of Wisconsin undergrad students at the time of the catastrophic three-vehicle crash that took place in snowy weather. They were traveling from Madison to Highland Park on icy roads.

According to witnesses, Horowitz was operating her motor vehicle at a speed of about 60 mph while other motorists were driving at approximately half that speed. She lost control of her Jeep, drove over the median, and struck two other autos.

While a motorist is not responsible for poor weather conditions and the hazards that they can create on wet, icy, or foggy roads, a driver can be held liable for Chicago personal injury if the motorist fails to modify his/her driving to prevent an Illinois car accident from happening.

A driver may have to reduce the vehicle's speed to lower than the posted speed limit to prevent his/vehicle from sliding uncontrollably on icy or wet roads. Texting or talking on a cell phone while driving when the road conditions are poor can cause tragic car accidents.

The party responsible for your Chicago, Illinois motor vehicle accident may be the driver of another vehicle, the driver of the vehicle that you are a passenger in, or another person or entity.

$1M settlement for Buffalo Grove woman in icy-road crash, Chicago Sun-Times, December 19, 2009

$1M settlement for woman in icy-road crash, WBBMNewsRadio780, December 19, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Winter Driving Tips, AAA

CyberDrive, Illinois

According Illinois State Police, Stapinski was headed south on Interstate Highway 55 close to Cicero Avenue when his vehicle drove onto the left shoulder and hit the concrete median barrier. It then went over the barrier, striking Wong’s auto in a head-on crash. Next, the off-duty cop’s auto rolled over, hitting a third vehicle.

According to witnesses, the off-duty police driver was operating his vehicle at a speed of about 80 mph when the deadly Cook County car accident happened. Police who were at the scene say that the 34-year-old cop exhibited slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, and smelled of alcohol. Stapinski declined to be tested for alcohol while at the crash site but he took a blood tested at the hospital where he was admitted for his injuries.

Wong was pronounced dead in Mt. Sinai Hospital. The third motorist was not injured. On Monday night, Stapinski was charged with drunken driving and reckless homicide.

Illinois Drunk Driving Accidents
While the number of Illinois drunk driving deaths has gone down (439 alcohol-related Illinois car crashes in 2007 and 362 drunk driving fatalities in 2008), drunk driving accidents continue to claim too many lives. A drunken motorist who causes a deadly car crash can be held liable for Illinois personal injury or wrongful death.

Especially during the holiday season, when people are busy going from one holiday event to the next and traveling to spend time with family, our Chicago, Illinois car accident law firm would like to remind you to refrain from driving while drunk.

Off-duty Lockport cop charged with reckless homicide, DUI, Chicago Tribune, December 22, 2009

Lockport Officer Was 3 Times Legal Limit, WBBM780, December 22, 2009

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Announces Intensive Holiday Drunk & Impaired Driving Crackdown & Advertising Blitz, NHTSA, December 7, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Fatalities and Fatality Rates in Alcohol- Impaired-Driving Crashes by State, 2007-2008, NHTSA, December 2009 (PDF)

DUI Information for Adults, Illinois State Police