Auto Accident

Man seriously injured in Chicago car accident from falling ice on semi

January 10, 2010 | By Dave Abels

An Auora man was serious injured in a suburban Chicago car accident involving a semi after a large block of ice flew off the top of the truck and slammed through the car’s windshield.

The Illinois trucking accident occurred when the westbound semi drove beneath an overpass, causing a sheet of ice to smash through the car windshield and into the driver.

“There was blood everywhere, pouring from my head, nose and my eye. I was scared that I was losing so much blood that I was going to die,” the victim told the Chicago Tribune.

Man dies two years after Chicago motorcycle accident allegedly caused by drunk driver

January 6, 2010 | By Dave Abels

A Chicago motorcycle accident claimed the life of a 47-year-old man on Saturday — two years after he was struck by an SUV driven by a man whose felony drunk driving case is still pending, according to the Chicago Breaking News Center.

The 47-year-old victim had been living at the Imperial Grove Pavillion nursing home, where he died Saturday. The medical bills in such cases can be astronomical and the pain and distress placed on families is devastating.

While it will be several months before motorcycles take to the roads again in Illinois, motorists are reminded that Chicago bicycle accidents and Chicago pedestrian accidents also often result in serious injury or death because of the vulnerability of such accident victims.

Local resident charged with drunk driving in New Year’s Eve Chicago car accident that claimed life of ex-girlfriend

January 4, 2010 | By Dave Abels

A Chicago man faces serious criminal charges for a New Year’s Chicago drunk driving accident that claimed the life of a 20-year-old woman, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The Cook County sheriff’s office reported the Oak Forest car accident was caused by a 22-year-old man who is a business partner of a former Chicago Blackhawks player.

The defendant’s 20-year-old ex-girlfriend, a local college student, was killed in the one-car Chicago car accident. He was tested with a blood-alcohol level of .236, almost three times the legal limit, according to media reports.

Authorities hope for fewer fatal Illinois car accidents

January 1, 2010 | By Dave Abels

As it makes a final push through the Holiday season, Illinois’ Operation Save 100 reported that 204 agencies had arrested 1,814 people for drunk driving and issued almost 10,000 seat belt citations.

The Chicago car accident lawyers at Abels & Annes remind motorists that the new year’s weekend is typically one of the deadliest on the roads as heavy traffic, winter driving accidents, and Chicago drunk driving accidents pose a danger to holiday motorists.

As reported on our Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer blog, the state launched the program Nov. 11 and hopes to reduce Illinois traffic fatalities by 100 lives through the end of the year. At launch, 781 had died on Illinois roads in 2009, compared to 883 during the same period last year.

The statewide enforcement effort focuses on the deadly nighttime hours and includes roadside safety checks, safety belt enforcement zones and police patrols looking for impaired drivers and safety belt law violators, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.

“There is no doubt that many serious crashes occur at night,” said Illinois Transportation Secretary Gary Hannig. “This high visibility enforcement effort comes at a time of year when lots of people are traveling across the state and nation, so it is a good time to focus on safety, especially during the holidays.”

IDOT reports nearly 7 of 10 Illinois traffic fatalities occuring between midnight and 3 a.m. involve a drunk driver.

Saving 100 lives would also save $100 million — the state estimates each road fatality costs about $1.2 million.

While fatal Illinois traffic accidents have been declining — from 1,248 in 2007 to 1,043 last year — Illinois is one of only 10 states to log more than 1,000 traffic deaths per year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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Friday afternoons the most dangerous time for Chicago car accidents

December 29, 2009 | By Dave Abels

Friday was the most dangerous day on the road in Illinois — logging 58,474 crashes in 2008
Noon to 8 p.m., the most dangerous time of day, logged about 180,000 of the 340,000 urban crashes, according to the release of the Illinois Department of Transportation’s 2008 Crash Facts and Statistics.

The Chicago car accident attorneys and the personal injury and wrongful death lawyers at Abels & Annes are publishing a series of blogs taking a look at the statistics. As previously reported on its Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer blog, about 40 percent of fatal Illinois traffic accidents occurred in the five-county Chicago area.

Last year, there were 408 fatal Chicago car accidents in the five-county area of the 1,043 traffic fatalities statewide.

Friday was the most dangerous day on the road in Illinois — logging 58,474 urban crashes and 8,943 crashes in rural areas. More than half of crashes (180,000 of the 340,000 urban crashes) occurred between Noon and 8 p.m.

As Abels & Annes reported on its Chicago Car Accident Lawyers blog, Illinois’ 2008 traffic fatality clock logged 1,115 Illinois traffic crashes per day. Eleven people an hour were injured and 3 people a day died in fatal Illinois traffic accidents, according to the report.

Illinois has launched a campaign to reduce the number of fatal accidents this year by at least 100. As of mid-November, 781 fatalities had been reported thus far this year, compared to 883 last year.

But the November and December holiday period is one of the deadliest on the road. Currenlty, Illinois is one of just 10 states to log an average of more than 1,000 traffic deaths annually, according to the National Highway Traffic safety Administration.
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Nearly 8,000 Illinois construction zone accidents injured 1,985 and claimed 31 lives last year

December 24, 2009 | By Dave Abels

A total of 7,813 Chicago construction zone accidents and accidents in work zones throughout Illinois killed 31 people and injured 1,985, according to the release of the Illinois Department of Transportation’s annual crash statistics report.

The Chicago car accident lawyers at Abels & Annes want to remind motorists to use caution when traveling in work zones.

For Illinois construction workers injured on the job, a Chicago construction accident attorney or an Illinois workers’ compensation attorney may also be able to assist in securing compensation for your injuries.

The state reported Illinois construction zone accidents occurred almost exclusively in urban areas, which accounted for 7,360 of the 7,813 accidents. The most accidents (3,827) occurred on the Interstate, followed by 1,511 on city streets and 1,217 on state routes.

IDOT’s site for work zone safety reports an average of more than 7,000 crashes a year. Motorists face a minimum $375 fine for violating the 45mph speed limit in work zones. Hitting a construction worker carries a penalty of 14 years in jail and a $10,000 fine.

The state offers the following tips to motorists to avoid Illinois construction zone car accidents:

-Understand where a work zone begins and ends and reduce speed accordingly.
-Slow down whether or not workers are present. Speeding penalties apply whether or not workers are present.
-The law requires motorists to move over to the next available lane or slow down when approaching emergency or highway maintenance vehicles with flashing lights.
-Don’t tailgate. One of the most common Illinois work zone accidents is a rear-end collision. Additionally, traffic in work zones frequently makes sudden stops.
-Expect the unexpected. Traffic patterns change frequently. Workers are often present. Lanes may be uneven or unmarked.
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Three die in weekend Chicago car accidents

December 22, 2009 | By Dave Abels

An Alsip man was pronounced dead Sunday morning following a fatal Chicago car accident in the Morgan Park neighborhood, the Chicago Breaking News Center reported.

The 54-year-old South Karlov Avenue man was pronounced dead at 1:22 a.m. at MetroSouth Medical Center in Blue Island, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

Police reported the man hit a car near the intersection of 110th Place and Hoyne Avenue. The Chicago police major accident unit is investigating the crash.

Battling drivers cause fatal Chicago bicycle accident

December 18, 2009 | By Dave Abels

An apparent feud between two drivers ramming into each other resulted in a cyclist being killed in a Chicago bicycle accident on the Northwest Side when he got caught in the altercation on West Diversey, the Chicago Breaking News Center reported.

As Abels & Annes reported earlier on the firm’s Chicago Car Accident Lawyers blog, authorities had been looking for the driver of a white van, who left the vehicle and fled on foot after striking the cyclist.

Police now allege the fatal accident that killed Jepson Livingston resulted from an altercation in which two drivers were ramming into each other before the driver of the van suddenly veered into the cyclist.

Cyclist critically injured by car in weekend Chicago bicycle accident

December 17, 2009 | By Dave Abels

A cyclist was killed over the weekend in a Chicago bicycle accident involving a 2004 Chevy Monte Carlo, the Sun-Times reported.

The bicyclist was struck by the car shortly after 11:30 p.m. Sunday night in Chicago’s Jefferson Park neighborhood, according to police.

The 22-year-old Northwest Side man was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center , where he was listed in critical condition Monday afternoon.

Safe winter driving reduces the chance of Chicago car accidents

December 15, 2009 | By Dave Abels

Admit it, you’ve done it: Late for work or just plain freezing, you have chipped away a small peephole in your windshield and relied upon the wipers and the defroster to expand your world before you get too far down the road.

As Old Man Winter arrives in the Windy City with a blowing, blustery vengeance, The Chicago winter driving accident lawyers and the personal injury and wrongful death attorneys at Abels & Annes want to take this opportunity to remind motorists it’s time to brush up on those safe winter driving habits.

The results of so called “peephole driving” can not only be deadly, they are illegal in Illinois where motorists without a clear windshield can be pulled over and ticketed.

The USA Today recently dubbed it “Peephole Driving Season in the USA.”

Peephole driving not only dramatically reduces a driver’s ability to see, it increases the chances that snow or ice can become dislodged and hit another vehicle or a pedestrian.

“Reasonable people who would never think of leaving their driveway with worn tires or bad brakes will routinely drive their children to school after scraping just a small peephole with which to see out of the vehicle,” Sgt. Scott Kristiansen, of the Buffalo Grove Police Department in suburban Chicago, told the USA Today. “That puts everybody at risk.”

The article notes Illinois is one of several states where drivers can be cited for obstructed vision if excessive ice or snow is obstructing their view of the road.

AAA spokesman David Weinstein told USA Today there are no reliable statistics on the number of people injured or killed by peephole driving. “Often the driver doesn’t know what happened and drives away — Or they do know what happened and know they’re culpable and drive away.”

But the statistics are clear when it comes to fatal Illinois traffic accidents, the last two months of the year, which pairs the beginning of winter driving season with the holiday travel season, is the deadliest time on the road.

In 2008, 92 Illinois drivers were killed in November and 106 were killed in December, the deadliest month of the year, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation. The vast majority of Illinois traffic fatalities occur in the seven-county region around Chicago.

IDOT statistics show more than 1 in 4 serious accidents occurred on wet, icy or snowy roads. Of the 950 fatalities and 67,739 serious injuries that occurred in accidents where road conditions were noted last year, 140 deaths and 11,434 injuries occurred on wet roads and 82 deaths and 7,583 occurred on icy or snowy roads.

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured or killed in an accident, the Chicago car accident lawyers at Abels & Annes offer free appointments to discuss your rights. Call (866) 99-ABELS. There is no fee unless you win.

IDOT Winter Driving Tips:
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