Auto Accident

Chicago car accident sends taxi careening into downtown convenience store

July 22, 2010 | By Dave Abels

A Chicago taxi cab accident injured at least four people after a cab crashed into a downtown convenience store, the Breaking News Center reported.

The accident happened about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday night. The taxi was involved in a two-car accident at the corner of Adams Street and Wabash Avenue when the Crown Victoria crashed through the 7-Eleven’s front windows.

A Toyota Camry was also involved and slammed into a large newspaper vending machine nearby. No one was struck inside the store, according to the Chicago Fire Department. The taxi came to a stop near a display inside the store.

Both drivers were transported to area hospitals in fair-to-serious condition. The city’s Department of Buildings was called to the scene to assess the severity of the building’s damage.

Our Chicago accident attorneys see these types of accidents on a fairly regular basis. As we reported last month on our Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog, eight people were hospitalized after an SUV jumped a curve and slammed into Petterino’s Restaurant on North Dearborn Street downtown.

It was the third time the restaurant was struck in little more than a year.

Last July, we reported an accident that occurred when a motorist drove through the front of a Curves Fitness Center.
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Fatal Chicago motorcycle accident, semi accident, among weekend crashes

July 19, 2010 | By Dave Abels

Police are looking for the vehicle responsible for a Chicago car accident that injured nine people over the weekend, the Sun-Times reported.

The three-car accident injured nine motorists Saturday night on the Bishop Ford Freeway (I-94) on the city’s South Side, according to Illinois State Police. The crash happened about 10 p.m. near 130th Street when a vehicle struck another vehicle in the northbound lanes. The second vehicle collided with a third vehicle before being pushed into a ditch with five motorists inside.

The vehicle that started the accident fled the scene. No one was taken to the hospital in the third vehicle; four people were treated for minor injuries at the scene.

Motorists may be at increased risk of Chicago car accidents caused by distracted driving

July 17, 2010 | By Dave Abels

While the number of fatal car accidents continues to decline, you may be at increased risk of a Chicago car accident caused by distracted driving, according to a new report by the Governor’s Highway Safety Association.

Through July 13, a total of 431 traffic fatalities have been reported in Illinois, 50 fewer than the 481 reported during the same period of 2009, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation. And, as we reported on our Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog in January, the 928 Illinois traffic fatalities recorded in 2009 were the fewest in a century of reporting.But the new report by the Governor’s Association highlights the increase in accidents blamed on distracted driving. The total number of traffic fatalities has declined nationwide, from 42,836 in 2004 to 37,261 in 2008. However, the number of fatal accidents blamed on distracted driving has increased by about 25 percent, from 4,978 in 2004 to 5,870 in 2008.

“Distracted driving is an emerging problem but a significant highway safety issue,” said Vernon F. Betkey Jr., chairman of the Governor’s Association. “Certainly most of the attention has been on texting and driving but there are a host of other distractions including cell phone calls (both handheld and hands-free) as well as more traditional ones such as eating, adjusting the radio, using the CD player or talking to passengers. Drivers need to be reminded to manage these distractions safely.”

Among the studies findings:

-The advent of Blackberry’s, Smart Phones, GPS devices and electronic notebooks has led to more potential driver distractions than ever before and such devices continue to be invented at a pace difficult to match by lawmakers and safety advocates.

-The number of drivers using cell phones at any given point has increased by 50 percent in the last six years (from 1 in 25 to 3 in 50).

-Only 34 states collect specific information on cell phone use at crash sites.

-About half of states do not provide information on distracted driving to teenagers.

-28 states (including Illinois) now ban text messaging by drivers.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates 6,000 motorists are killed each year and more than 500,000 are injured in accidents caused by distracted driving. The Governor’s Association notes the actual number is probably much higher because of the lack of mandated data collection regarding distracted driving.

“We need to develop a traffic safety culture that does not condone driving while distracted much like we have done with drunk driving,” Betkey said.
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Chicago car accidents claim two lives in Wheaton and Elmwood Park

July 15, 2010 | By Dave Abels

A suburban Chicago car accident killed an 81-year-old man near Wheaton on Sunday night, the Daily Herald reported.

Authorities report that a 2004 Dodge Dakota was heading east on Butterfield Road near Arrowhead Drive at about 8:40 p.m. Sunday when the victim’s Mercury Grand Marquis tried to turn out of the golf course to travel west. The truck struck the driver’s side front end of the Mercury.

The victim was taken to Central DuPage Hospital in Windfield, where he was pronounced dead at 1:49 a.m. The 23-year-old driver of the truck was treated for minor injuries and released.

Chicago injury lawyers wishing you a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July

July 1, 2010 | By Dave Abels

The Chicago injury lawyers at Abels & Annes wish each of you a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July weekend. In preventing injuries over the holiday, we encourage you to leave the fireworks displays to the professionals, drink responsibly and don’t drink and drive, practice safe boating and driving habits and speak with your teenagers about staying safe and making good decisions.

Drink Responsibly and Don’t Drink and Drive
As our Chicago accident lawyers report frequently, drunk driving is responsible for one-third of Chicago car accidents as well as accidents in Cook County and throughout Illinois. Nationwide, someone dies every 45 minutes in a car accident involving a drunk driver. In Illinois, 434 of 1,043 fatalities involved alcohol in 2008, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Safe Boating

The U.S. Coast Guard reported 4,789 accidents killed 709 boaters and injured more than 3,300 in 2008. The leading causes of boating accidents include careless and reckless operation, operator inattention, no proper lookout, operator inexperience and passenger/skier behavior. Alcohol use is a factor in nearly 1 in 5 boating fatalities. In 2008, a total of 119 Illinois boating accidents were reported, killing 19 boaters and injuring 79.

Visit the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for more information on safe boating and boater education.

Teen Driving Safety
We offer a host of safe teen driving information, both here and on our Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Blog. Please take the time to speak with your teenagers about the importance of making good driving decisions this summer.Fireworks Injuries
The safest way to enjoy fireworks this weekend is by leaving the displays to the professionals. Fireworks injuries are not an abstract concept — they are a tragically regular occurrence during the New Year’s and Fourth of July Holidays.

-In 2006, 11 people were killed and more than 9,200 were treated in emergency rooms for fireworks-related injuries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

-More than two-thirds of fireworks injuries occur around the Fourth of July.

-One-third of those injured were children under 15. Young people under 20 sustained nearly half of all fireworks injuries.

-The most frequent injuries reported involved the hands (2,300), eyes (1,500) and the head, face and ears (1,400).

-More than half of all injuries involve burns. Other common injuries include contusions, lacerations and foreign objects in the eyes.

-Fireworks injuries are associated with blindness, third-degree burns and permanent scarring. Life-threatening residential and motor-vehicle fires are also reported.-Firecrackers caused the greatest number of injuries (1,300) followed by sparklers (1,000) and rockets (800).

-More than one-third of fireworks related deaths involve professional devices that are illegally sold to consumers.

-Common causes of fireworks injuries include availability of high-grade fireworks to the consumers, being too close to fireworks, operator error and lack of coordination, child curiosity and experimenting with homemade devices.
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Underage party leads to death of 5 students in Chicago drunk driving accident

June 29, 2010 | By Dave Abels

A woman accused of a Chicago drunk driving accident that killed 5 teenagers is expected to testify this week as her trial comes to a close in Kendall County, the Daily Herald reported.

The 26-year-old Auora woman is accused of drunk driving in a Feb. 11, 2007 accident while giving 8 teenagers a ride home from an underage drinking party hosted by an 18-year-old Boulder Hill resident. Police say she was driving a 2001 Infiniti Q30 68mph in a 45 mph zone when she lost control and slammed into a telephone pole on Route 31 near River Run Road, 4 miles from the party. Five Oswego High School students — ages 17, 16, 15, 14, 14 — died in the crash. The home’s owner reported that she and her boyfriend had returned home to find their son having a party and kicked everyone out around 1 a.m.

The defendant’s blood-alcohol level was .124, above the legal limit of .08. However, she is contesting the results, saying she vomited during the accident, which can skew test results.

Chicago injury attorneys obtain good arbitration award

June 25, 2010 | By Dave Abels

Chicago car accident lawyers at Abels & Annes have received a good award for one of their clients by way of binding arbitration.

The case stems from an auto accident where the plaintiff was stopped for a red light on southbound River Rd. at Devon in the City of Rosemont, Illinois. As she was sitting stopped at the light she was struck from behind by a vehicle that was driving too fast for conditions.

Our client was seen in Lutheran General Hospital’s Emergency Room on the date of the collision with complaints of back and neck pain. She had no prior history of back or neck problems. She was diagnosed with sprain/strain and instructed to seek follow up care.

Chicago car accidents in steep decline — fatal Illinois accidents decline throughout the region

June 21, 2010 | By Dave Abels

Four people were seriously injured in a Chicago car accident on Sunday night. The accident in the Grand Crossing neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side involved multiple vehicles, the Breaking News Center reported.

Police and emergency workers responded to the accident shortly before 10:30 p.m. near the intersection of 70th Street and Stony Island Avenue. Two victims were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious to critical condition. Two other were taken in serious to critical condition to Stroger Hospital of Cook County.

While it was a busy weekend for accidents in the Chicago area, no fatalities were reported. This year is shaping up to be historic in terms of the low number of fatal accidents being reported in Chicago and throughout the state.

Weekend Chicago pedestrian accidents claim two lives; state reports drastic decline in number of Chicago traffic fatalities

June 15, 2010 | By Dave Abels

Authorities responded to a number of hit-and-run crashes and fatal car and pedestrian accidents in the Chicago area over the weekend — even as state statistics show that fatal Chicago car accidents have declined by more than 50 percent so far this year.

A hit-and-run Chicago car accident injured five people, including two police officers, in the Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side, according to the Breaking News Center.

The crash happened Sunday afternoon about 3 p.m. when a police cruiser and a civilian vehicle were stopped at an eastbound light on Roosevelt Road at Kedzie Avenue. A car traveling south on Kedzie lost control as it turned right and collided with the civilian vehicle, which collided with the cruiser.

Chicago injury attorneys settle hit-and-run car accident claim for $100,000

June 13, 2010 | By Dave Abels

Chicago car crash lawyers at Abels & Annes, P.C. have reached a policy limits $100,000 settlement for a woman that sustained injuries in an Illinois hit-and-run accident. The automobile collision which took place on October 4, 2009 at approximately 2:40 a.m. The plaintiff riding as a passenger in a vehicle being driven by a friend.

The vehicle had been heading northbound on Wood Street near its intersection with 31st Street in Chicago, Illinois. When they reached the intersection the driver stopped for the stop sign. He then began to make a left turn to proceed westbound on 31st St. Another vehicle heading westbound on 31st St. failed to stop for his stop sign and struck the passenger side of Jason’s vehicle, right where our client was sitting. After the other vehicle came to a rest the hit-and-run driver exited his vehicle and fled the scene of the collision on foot.

The hit-and-run driver failed to stop for a stop sign, failed to keep a proper lookout, was driving at an excessive rate of speed, and failed to exercise due care for the safety of those in the area, including the claimant.

The plaintiff had an immediate onset of left ear pain and neck pain along with abrasions and bleeding to her left ear. She was transported from the scene of the collision by ambulance to the emergency department at the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center.
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