The parents of a teen killed when a semi truck slammed into a CTA train station in Chicago have filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Cook County against the truck driver and trucking company, according to the Associated Press. The lawsuit alleges that the 64 year old truck driver was driving too fast for conditions, ran a red light, and failed to use his horn to warn of impact.
The driver, who is from Metamora, Michigan, received a traffic ticket for the April 25 accident, but no criminal charges have been filed.
The accident happened when the driver crashed his semi truck into the CTA Red Line train station at Cermak Road on the South Side during the evening rush hour. One other woman was killed and twenty one others were injured, according to the Chicago Tribune and various other news sources.
The truck had just come off the Dan Ryan Expressway near Chinatown when it crashed into the train station and traveled several steps up an escalator. Some witnesses believed the truck was going 40 – 50 mph when it hit the station. Chicago Police Department officials have stated that the two women killed were pedestrians walking near the CTA station.
The cause of the truck crash is still unknown. The truck driver was taken to Stroger Hospital where he tested negative for alcohol, but then he refused a urine test and asked to be discharged from the hospital, stating that he had no insurance to cover treatment. He was then released into the custody of the Chicago Police Department.
A Chicago Fire Department official stated that twenty one injured were taken to area hospitals, and eleven of those were in critical condition. Four people had to be cut out of the escalators at the station by rescue workers.