Auto Accident

Car accident in Chicago area results in death of 88-year-old woman

September 14, 2009 | By Dave Abels

In the third deadly car crash this week in Kane County, Illinois an elderly woman has been killed, according to chicagobreakingnews.com. Four others were injured in the car crash that occurred in Lily Lake, Illinois on September 13, 2009.

The victim was a resident of Woodstock, Illinois and she was pronounced dead when she arrived by ambulance at Delnor-Community Hospital in Geneva. She was riding as a rear driver’s side passenger in a Ford Escape.

The fatal car accident occurred at about 1:45 in the morning near Illinois Highway and Empire Road, involving an SUV and a 1990 Buick Regal. The Kane County Sheriff’s Department is handling the crash investigation. This is the 3rd fatal accident they have investigated in the past week.

Schaumburg couple killed in Chicago area motorcycle accident

September 8, 2009 | By Dave Abels

A Schaumburg couple was killed on Labor Day when their motorcycle was hit by a car in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. The deadly motorcycle accident took place in unincorporated Cook County near Palatine, Illinois. The Chicago Sun-Times reported the husband was driving the motorcycle when it was struck by a vehicle exiting a gas station parking lot at Quentin and Dundee roads shortly before noon.

The 65-year-old husband was pronounced dead about 2:30 p.m. on Monday at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, according to the Chicago Tribune. His 54-year-old wife was pronounced dead about an hour later.

The Cook County Sheriff’s Department is handling the crash investigation. The driver of the car that collided with the motorcycle, a 61-year-old Palatine woman, was ticketed for failure to yield from a private driveway, according to the Daily Herald. Whether the charges will be increased due to the fatalities has not been reported.

Illinois car accident injures 5 in Naperville

September 6, 2009 | By Dave Abels

In the Chicago western suburb of Naperville, Illinois 5 people were injured in a car crash on Saturday night, according to the Naperville Sun. The 2 vehicle crash involved a Naperville police car, and a police officer was one of the injured.

The car crash took place at the intersection of Route 59 and 95th Street just before 6:30 p.m. The Naperville Police vehicle was eastbound on 95th when it collided with a motor vehicle that was northbound on 59. Both cars were seriously damaged.

The police officer and the 4 occupants of the other car were all hurt and taken to Edwards Hospital in Naperville, Illinois. The intersection was closed for hours due to the car accident.

Chicago pedestrian hit and injured by car

August 31, 2009 | By Dave Abels

Chicago personal injury attorneys at Abels & Annes have entered into an agreement to represent a Northwest Side resident who sustained personal injuries after she was hit by a car while crossing a street in a crosswalk. The car vs. pedestrian accident happened on August 15, 2009 just before 5 p.m. at the intersection of Central and Roscoe.

Our client was walking eastbound crossing Central in a crosswalk on the north side of the intersection when a woman driving a 2009 Nissan Murano, who was also eastbound on Roscoe, entered the intersection. She proceeded turn left on to Central and failed to observe the pedestrian in the walkway. She struck our client with the passenger side of her SUV.

The Chicago Police Department came to the scene and issued the defendant a traffic violation. She has a September court date at the Daley Center. The officer noted in his police report that the Nissan had a dent on the hood and broken plastic by the headlight where the vehicle hit the pedestrian.

Chicago injury attorneys reach $74,500 settlement for passenger injured in single vehicle car accident

August 29, 2009 | By Dave Abels

Chicago personal injury lawyers from Abels & Annes resolved a case for a North Side resident who was injured in a single vehicle auto accident in Wisconsin. The plaintiff was riding as a passenger in the back seat of an automobile being driven by the defendant on the evening of November 1, 2007.

They were traveling in a 1995 Chevrolet K1500 Suburban from Madison, Wisconsin to Minnesota. The defendant was driving westbound on Interstate 90 with three passengers. At approximately 8:15 p.m. defendant lost control of her vehicle, veered to the left off the roadway into a ditch, struck a cement culvert and embankment and crashed her vehicle into to cement pylon of an overpass.

Following the collision defendant admitted to the investigating police officers that she had lost control of her vehicle because she was eating food while driving, reached down to grab a napkin and was not looking where she was driving. As a result she lost control of her vehicle and drove off the roadway. She was issued a traffic citation as a result of her actions on the evening of the collision and she later pleaded guilty to inattentive driving.

Chicago area motorcycle accidents continue to rise

August 25, 2009 | By Dave Abels

Motorcycle accidents continue to rise in the seven-county Chicago area — up 22 percent in just two years, according to the Sun-Times News Group.

That’s more than 7 Chicago-area motorcycle accidents a day — all year long — or more than a dozen a day during the five-month riding season. Most motorcycle accidents result in personal injuries to the rider involved.

The Chicago motorcycle accident lawyers at Abels & Annes urge car drivers to remain vigilant about the dangers to motorcycle riders through the remainder of the summer riding season.

Inexperienced drivers who aren’t used to seeing so many cycles on the road have helped push the number of motorcycle crashes in the seven-county region to 2,663 last year, a Chicago Sun-Times survey has found.

That’s up 22 percent from 2,180 just two years earlier, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Kane, DuPage and Kendall counties are among the few counties that have not seen a steady increase in crashes. Motorcycles in Kane and DuPage counties went up between 2006 and 2007, then down in 2008.

As we reported in a blog last month, fatality statistics are sobering for motorcycle riders across the country.

Nationwide, motorcycle fatalities increased for the 11th straight year and accounted for 14 percent of all traffic fatalities, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

A total of 5,290 riders were killed in 2008, compared to 5,174 in 2007. The increase came in a year when federal statistics revealed a steep drop in virtually every other category, including a 13 percent decline in motor vehicle fatalities.

Our summer blog on motorcycle safety can be found by clicking here

Click here to read our post on 10 things all drivers should know about motorcycles.
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Chicago pedestrian killed by semi-truck in Wicker Park

August 23, 2009 | By Dave Abels

On the Northwest Side of Chicago a pedestrian was hit and killed by a semi truck while crossing the street, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The pedestrian vs. truck accident happened at the intersection of Chicago Avenue and Ashland Avenue around 10:30 p.m. in the Wicker Park neighborhood.

The victim, a 59 year old male Chicago resident, was taken to Cook County Stroger Hospital and pronounced dead a short time later.

The Chicago Police Department’s Major Accident Investigation Unit is handling the crash investigation. No tickets had been issued to the truck driver as of this morning, however the investigation is most likely not yet complete. What exactly caused the accident has not been reported. Whether tickets are issued could depend on if there were independent witnesses to the accident.

Illinois announces crackdown on drunk drivers through Labor Day weekend

August 21, 2009 | By Dave Abels

Chicago injury lawyers at Abels & Annes often represent Illinois residents who have been injured by DUI drivers. One car accident case we are currently working on involves the death of two minor children.

The State of Illinois has announced a crackdown on drunk drivers that launches this week and runs through the Labor Day holiday weekend.

Robert Brasky, Illinois Traffic Safety Leaders president, announced officers from all departments will be out in force beginning Aug. 21 and cited motorcycle riders as being at particularly high risk through the holiday weekend.

The Chicago car accident lawyers and motorcycle accident attorneys at Abels & Annes blogged recently about the increase in motorcycle fatalities.

Police will join thousands of other law enforcement and highway safety agencies throughout the nation as they take part in the “Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest” crackdown on impaired driving.

In 2007, nearly 13,000 people died in highway crashes involving a driver or motorcycle operator with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. About 1 in 3 road fatalities involves drunk driving.

For motorcycle riders, 2007 statistics show a higher percentage (27 percent) had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher than any other type of motor vehicle driver.

The Chicago Sun-Times recently reported Illinois motorcycle accidents are up 22 percent, from 2,180 in 2007 to 2,663 last year.

“Make no mistake. Our message is simple. No matter what you drive-a passenger car, pickup, sport utility vehicle or motorcycle-if police catch you driving impaired, we will arrest you. No exceptions. No excuses,” said Brasky. “Driving with a BAC of .08 or higher is illegal in every state. Yet we continue to see far a tragic number of people with debilitating injuries and deaths as a result of impaired driving. This careless disregard for human life must stop. To help ensure that happens, police are dedicated to arresting impaired drivers wherever and whenever they find them.”

The national “Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest.” program is organized by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and focuses on combining high-visibility enforcement with heightened public awareness and publicity.

For more information, visit www.StopImpairedDriving.org.
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Chicago bicyclist severely injured by opening car door

August 19, 2009 | By Dave Abels

Chicago personal injury lawyers at Abels & Annes have entered into an agreement to represent a Chicago bike rider that was seriously injured this past week by an opening car door on the North Side. The accident took place in the 3600 block of Southport between Addison and Waveland on August 15, 2009. Our client was riding southbound when a driver who was not paying attention swung his car door open into traffic, causing him and another biker to fall. The Chicago Police Department investigated the accident.

The Chicago bicyclist was treated the same day in the ER at John Stroger Cook County Hospital in Chicago. There he was x-rayed and diagnosed with fractures in his right wrist, left elbow, and left clavicle.

Since the accident he has followed up with Greenleaf Orthopaedics in Lake County, Illinois, and has been informed that he will need to undergo surgery to repair his elbow fracture. The procedure is scheduled for later this week.

Firefighters injured in Chicago car accident with passenger vehicle

August 17, 2009 | By Dave Abels

Five Chicago firefighters and two motorists were injured Saturday in a car accident on the city’s South Side.

The Chicago Tribune reported that the fire truck was responding to a call just after 5 p.m. when it was struck by a passenger car.

Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said a woman in the car was “very critically injured,” and the driver was in serious condition. He said four firefighters were treated and released Saturday evening, while one was being kept overnight for observation.