Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Blog

A total of 136 fatal Illinois trucking accidents occurred in 2008, ranking the state among the worst in the nation for fatal trucking accidents according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which continues to release data based on last year's accident statistics.

Overall, trucking fatalities declined slightly; the nation's 9 million semis drove 226 million miles and were involved in 4,066 fatal crashes, compared to 4,633 fatal crashes in 2007.

The Chicago trucking accident lawyers at Abels & Annes are often called to represent clients injured in Chicago car accidents involving semis, dump trucks, buses or other large commercial vehicles.

Trucking companies and truck drivers are heavily regulated because of the dangers they pose to motorists in an accident. An 80,000 pound semi can weigh 20 times more than a passenger vehicle. Four of every 5 multi-vehicle trucking accidents involved a fatality, compared to just over half of multi-vehicle crashes involving only passenger cars.

Compared to automobile drivers, truckers involved in fatal crashes were less likely to have derogatory driving records, like DUI convictions or suspended licenses, but were more likely to have been cited for speeding and just as likely to have been involved in previous crashes.

Illinois ranked 7th in the nation behind California, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas in the total number of fatal trucking accidents.

Last year, some 380,000 large trucks were involved in traffic accidents that killed 4,229 motorists. Another 90,000 were injured. Nationwide, large trucks account for 4 percent of road traffic. In Illinois, nearly 10 percent of the state's traffic comes from large trucks. California and Texas were the two states with the most trucks on the road.

In 2008, one out of every nine traffic fatalities resulted from a collision involving a large truck. In 3 out of every 4 cases, the person killed occupied a vehicle involved in an accident with the truck. The trucker was killed in 26 percent of the accidents.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a serious or fatal Illinois trucking accident, the Chicago injury lawyers at Abels & Annes offer free consultations to discuss your rights. Call (866) 99-ABELS. There is no fee unless you win.

Illinois Traffic Safety Leaders are urging motorists to use common sense through the upcoming Halloween Holiday weekend to avoid Chicago drunk driving accidents and DUI accidents on Illinois highways.

The Chicago car accident attorneys at Abels & Annes encourage motorists to have a travel plan to prevent drunk driving, including designated drivers, overnight stays, taxi cabs or other forms of transportation.

Nationwide, 1 in every 3 fatal accidents is caused by a drunk driver.

Halloween has proven especially deadly in recent years and authorities are concerned, with the holiday falling on a Saturday, excessive partying could lead to an increase in fatal drunk driving accidents.

In 2008, more than half (58 percent) of all highway fatalities involved an impaired driver or motorcycle rider, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

“With Halloween falling on a Saturday this year, we want to remind revelers to be responsible by not taking the party to the roadways, putting themselves, trick-or-treaters and other motorists at risk,” said RobertBrasky, president of Illinois Traffic Safety Leaders.

ITSL also recommends these simple tips:
-Plan a safe way home before the festivities begin
-Before drinking, please designate a sober driver
-If you’re impaired, and haven't designated a sober driver, use a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation so you are sure to get home safely
-Use your community’s Sober Rides program
-If you happen to see a drunk driver on the road, don’t hesitate to contact your local law enforcement

Continue reading " Halloween a deadly time for Chicago drunk driving accidents " »

Two men died last weekend in separate Chicago hit-and-run accidents as police continue to battle drivers who fail to stop after pedestrian accidents.

CBS2 reported a 47-year-old Texan and a 60-year-old grandfather were killed in the latest crashes and in both cases the drivers fled the scene.

The 60-year-old grandfather was struck down before dawn last Saturday on Cicero Avenue near Roosevelt Road, where his granddaughter erected a memorial on Sunday. The granddaughter expressed frustration, saying he might have been saved with proper medical attention.

Police are looking for a red or dark-colored vehicle with extensive front-end damage.

West of that crash scene, at Ogden and Lombard avenues in Berwyn, a seasonal construction worker was killed shortly after 6 a.m. last Sunday.

"We believe somebody saw this vehicle or may know who was driving this vehicle. We're asking them to come forward," said Berwyn Police Detective Roger Montoro. "We're positive a newer model Dodge Charger, black in color. We're totally positive of that."

Police believe the car has a missing hood ornament and front-end damage.

At least five other pedestrian accident have claimed lives or led to criminal charges in the past few weeks.

Last week, a 36-year-old woman was killed after being rundown in a crosswalk and thrown into the path of an oncoming CTA bus.

On Oct. 2, a Waukegan man was charged with killing a pedestrian in a Chicago hit-and-run accident; a week earlier, a man was charged in a drunk driving accident that killed a man at the state line.

In August, our sister site, Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Blog, reported on the city's efforts to reduce pedestrian accidents at night by stationing undercover officers in crosswalks.

Accidents data for Cook County and the surrounding area continues to show that pedestrian accidents and bicycle accidents are a leading cause of injury and death in Chicago traffic fatalities. Through September, more than 1 in every 3 of Chicago's 110 fatalities involved a bicyclist or a pedestrian.

Hit-and-run drivers account for a large portion of traffic fatalities -- more than four people a day die in an accident where the at-fault driver does not stop, according to a report by AAA. Each day, another 72 are injured by hit-and-run drivers.

Anyone with information regarding a Chicago hit-and-run accident is encouraged to contact the Chicago Police Department immediately.

A Chicago car accident on Saturday in Logan Square has led to charges against a driver who allegedly hit a squad car.

The 29-year-old woman was charged with failure to produce a driver's license, no insurance, damage to city property and failure to yield to a stop sign, according to police.

CBS2 reported the woman was driving a Toyota Sienna van shortly after 2 a.m. when she went through a stop sign and struck a police car in the intersection at 2133 N. Central Park and Shakespeare avenues.

The Chicago Breaking News Center reported a total of seven people were injured in the two-vehicle accident.

Three passengers in the van, a 17-year-old male, 17-year-old female and a 23-year-old woman, were transported to Illinois Masonic Medical Center with injuries.

The two police officers in the squad car were also transported to local hospitals with injuries, according to police.

The officers were treated and released; the Police Major Accidents Investigation Unit is investigating.

A new report by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that more than half of all traffic accidents in a recent five-year period were caused by some form of aggressive driving.

I believe that many of the Chicago car accidents handled by the personal injury and wrongful death lawyers at Abels & Annes could have been prevented if the at-fault driver had not engaged in some form of dangerous behavior, including distracted or aggressive driving.

When an aggressive driver causes an accident, he or she can be held responsible in civil courts for the injuries and damage caused to innocent motorists and in some cases can even face criminal prosecution.

We are all familiar with the irate or dangerous motorist who tailgates, weaves in and out of traffic, and offers hand gestures to anyone in the way.

But some of us are guilty of some form of aggressive driving from time to time, including speeding, following too closely and failure to use proper signals or obey traffic control devices.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety rates aggressive driving at or near the top of traffic safety issues nationwide.

- Speeding, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is responsible for almost one-third of all fatal traffic crashes.

- Failure to yield the right of way is responsible for 11.4 percent of traffic fatalities.

A total of 192,069 fatal crashes killed 212,997 people during the five-year study period. The top causes of death were speeding, failure to yield, reckless driving, failure to obey traffic signals and improper turns.

The report found the following driver actions were among the most likely causes for accidents:

- Following improperly
- Improper or erratic lane changes
- Illegal driving on a road shoulder, median or sidewalk
- Passing where prohibited or where there is insufficient distance or visibility
- Operation of a vehicle in a reckless, careless, negligent or erratic manner or suddenly changing speeds
- Failure to yield
- Failure to obey traffic signals, traffic officers or safety zone laws
- Failure to observe warnings or instructions on vehicles displaying them
- Failure to signal
- Driving too fast for conditions or exceeding posted speed limits
- Racing
- Making improper turns

Continue reading " Aggressive driving behavior responsible for half of all car accidents " »

An August car accident that killed a Chicago motorcycle rider has resulted in felony DUI charges against the car's driver.

The 47-year-old North Ashland Avenue woman has been charged with aggravated DUI in connection with the Chicago car accident that killed a North Side motorcyclist, ABC7 reported.

The case made news after a nurse sued the city after she reported being arrested by police for failing to give a blood test to the woman charged, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

The Chicago motorcycle fatality happened shortly before 3:30 a.m. at the intersection of Ashland and Wilson, claiming the life of a 24-year-old North Campbell Avenue man, who died at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center six days later as a result of his injuries.

Police reported that the accused driver stated she did not see the motorcycle as she turned eastbound on Wilson from Ashland and accused the motorcyclist of running the red light.

She admitted drinking wine after officers smelled alcohol and reported she had glassy eyes, according to The Sun-Times. A motorist reported the woman's car was swerving from side to side before the accident.

Police reported she was placed in custody for driving under impairment after refusing to complete field sobriety tests.

A nurse filed a lawsuit the following Monday, alleging she was arrested for not performing the blood test. Blood ultimately was drawn at the hospital for a blood-alcohol test at 7:30 a.m., according to police.

The nurse's lawsuit claims she told police she could not perform the test until the accused driver was officially admitted as a patient and that she was unable to perform her duties as an emergency room staff member while being detained by police, according to The Sun-Times report.

Traffic fatalities in 2009 are down nationwide, according to statistics released this past weekend by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which reviewed data for the first six months of the year.

So far in 2009, 16,626 people have been killed in traffic accidents, a 7 percent reduction compared to the 17,871 traffic deaths reported in the first half of 2008.

The Chicago car accident lawyers and personal injury and wrongful death attorneys at Abels & Annes continue to monitor state and national traffic statistics. While overall traffic deaths are declining, instances of drunk driving and motorcycle accident fatalities continued to increase last year.

And in Cook County, bicycle and pedestrian fatalities continue to be a problem. Through September, more than one-third of Chicago's 110 traffic fatalities involved a Chicago pedestrian accident or a Chicago bicycle accident.

In Ilinois, where crash statistics are available through the end of September, the downward trend in traffic fatalities continues: 698 motorists died in 628 fatal crashes through the first 9 months of the year, compared to 796 fatalities last year. The 96 fewer fatalities represents a 12 percent decrease year-over-year.

Of the 628 fatal accidents, 204 deaths were attributed to alcohol-involved traffic crashes and 131 involved unlicensed drivers, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Also of note, is that the pace of decline in nationwide traffic fatalities slowed as the economy recovered. In the first quarter of 2009, a 10 percent reduction in fatal accidents was reported, compared to the 4 percent reduction in the second quarter amid a significant recovery in the stock market and reports of an improving economy.

Traditionally, the deadliest time on the nation's roads has been the second half of the year -- which includes back-to-school, and the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays as well as the start of the winter driving season.

Continue reading " 2009 fatal car accident data released by NHTSA and Illinois " »

Two people were killed and two others critically injured when a car crashed into a pole in the Austin neighborhood on the city's West Side on the evening of Friday, October 2nd, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

The 29-year-old driver of the vehicle was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital shortly before midnight. A passenger was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.

The Chicago car accident occurred about 10 p.m. Friday when the car went out of control and struck a pole near the intersection of Lotus and Chicago Avenues, according to the Chicago Breaking News Center.

Two other passengers were also taken to area hospitals with serious injuries. Both men were listed in critical condition, according to Chicago Police.

The one-vehicle crash was being investigated by the Chicago Police Department's Major Accident Investigations Unit. The cause of the accident has not been reported.

In the Chicago Northwest suburb of Park Ridge, Illinois a man and a woman were killed in a deadly auto accident early Sunday morning, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Four others were hurt in the car crash.

The accident took place at Oak Street and Riverside Drive around 2:10 a.m. Emergency response workers arrived at the crash site and found one damaged car with one person inside and another vehicle 75 feet from the intersection with 5 people inside. All six involved were taken to area hospitals by the Park Ridge, Des Plaines, Niles and North Maine fire departments.

The victims have been identified as Younan Chalabi, 25, of Des Plaines and Christine Merza, 37, of Morton Grove, according to the Chicago Breaking News Center. Both were passengers, and therefore played no role in causing the accident.

The Park Ridge Police Department Major Crash Unit is investigating the cause of the accident. It has not been reported if alcohol or drugs were a factor.

The Daily Herald is reporting that the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office will conduct autopsies on Monday.

Statistically, Saturday and Sunday morning between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. is the most deadly time to be on the road.

An Ohio man faces charges in connection with a weekend Chicago drunk driving accident that claimed two lives.

The 27-year-old Cleveland man had a blood-alcohol level of .148 -- nearly twice the legal limit -- when the car he was driving slammed into another car, killing two South Side men, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Cook County prosecutors report the man had just gotten into another car accident before Saturday night's fatal crash. Prosecutors allege the man downed a bottle of Arbor Mist and three vodka martinis, struck a car at 62nd and Ashland, and took off at a high rate of speed after berating the victimized motorists.

Authorities reported that the man weaved in and out of traffic before running a red light at Ashland and 59th and slamming into another car. That crash claimed the lives of a 27-year-old driver and his 28-year-old passenger, both of whom were pronounced dead on arrival at Holy Cross Hospital.

A third passenger was hospitalized at Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition.

The defendant was jailed and remained in custody after bail was set at $500,000.

Authorities reported that the at-fault driver left a bar at 82nd and Ashland after twice being offered a ride to his destination, which he refused. He faces two counts of reckless homicide and two counts of aggravated DUI, according to police. He also is charged with disobeying a traffic-control signal, negligent driving and driving without insurance.

The accident occurred shortly after 2 a.m., according to the Chicago Breaking News Center.

Last Month, Illinois warned of the high number of drunk drivers out at night, particularly on the weekend. In August, a study reported 1 in 7 weekend nighttime drivers tested positive for alcohol or drug use.

Click here for more information, safety tips and other coverage of Chicago drunk driving accidents.

One man was killed and more than a dozen others injured in separate multi-vehicle car accidents last Thursday in the Chicago area.

In the first incident, an eight-vehicle Chicago car accident in suburban Crestwood claimed to life of a Country Club Hills man on Thursday morning, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The Southtown Star reported that a speeding driver caused the accident after slamming into several vehicles at a Crestwood intersection.

Police reported charges were expected against the speeding driver of a 1997 Buick LeSabre, which slammed into cars stopped at the intersection.

The crash happened about 5 a.m. at Cicero Avenue and Cal Sag Road -- the 55-year-old Laramie Road man was pronounced dead at the scene, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office reported.

The Chicago Breaking News Center said four other motorists were injured in the crash and that the at-fault driver was on parole for a 2006 reckless homicide conviction and also had a previous conviction for aggravated battery to a peace officer or fireman.

In the second incident, a four-car North Lake Shore accident injured nine people, three of them critically, according to the Chicago Tribune, which reported that the 2:30 p.m. accident shut done northbound Lake Shore Drive for an hour.

Two motorists were taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in critical condition and one was in critical condition at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Six others were treated at the scene.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and AAA are urging motorists to come together next week in avoiding anything that leads to distracted driving.

From Oct. 5 to Oct. 11 the "Heads Up Driving Week" hopes to teach motorists better driving habits to avoid the dangers associated with distracted driving.

Distracted driving is a contributing cause to a large number of serious and fatal car accidents. Earlier this year, the Chicago car accident lawyers and personal injury and wrongful death attorneys at Abels & Annes wrote about the dangers of distracted driving as part of our Safe Driving series.

Nationwide, it's estimated that more than 1.3 million crashes a year are caused by distracted driving -- or more than 4,300 crashes a day!

Next week's effort has AAA calling for a week when drivers put away distractions and focus only on the road-- saying the real number of accidents caused by distracted driving could be almost twice that many --8,000 per day.

The AAA Foundation reports that 80 percent of drivers say distracted driving is a serious threat to their safety yet two-thirds of drivers admit to talking on a cell phone while driving.

With the theme "Please - try it for a week - do it for life," the Heads Up Driving Week lists 10 ways to minimize distractions while on the road:

- Plan Ahead

-Stow electronic devices

- Prepare kids and pets for the trip

-Satisfy that craving off the road

-Store loose gear and possessions

-Get your vehicle road-ready

-Dress for success before you get in the car

- Get your brain in the game

-Evaluate your own behavior from the "other" side of the road

- Use new technology to make you drive better

Drivers interested in learning more about these categories can click here to visit the Heads Up Driving Week website.

Continue reading " AAA Foundation launches Heads Up Driving Week on Monday, runs Oct. 5-11 to combat distracted driving " »

A 24-year-old Waukegan man has been charged with leaving the scene of a Chicago-area car accident that killed a pedestrian last Sunday night in Aurora, Illinois.

The Chicago Breaking News Center reported that Aurora police were able to convince the man to turn himself in to authorities after he called several times to inquire about the victim's condition.

He was also charged with obstructing justice and driving with a suspended license. Police reported he claimed he was rear-ended by another vehicle, which pushed him into the pedestrian and that he used a hammer and crow bar to damage his vehicle in an attempt to prove his story.

He later admitted the rear-end crash did not occur, according to police.

The hit-and-run driver was in a 1996 Mercury Marquis northbound on Lake Street, at 8:38 p.m., when he struck and killed the woman, who was crossing Lake Street in a market crosswalk, according to the Chicago Daily-Herald.

Police say accused driver did not stop and continued on to Waukegan.

Law enforcement continue to focus on prevention of Chicago area pedestrian accidents at night.

In 2008, a total of 135 pedestrians were reported killed in Illinois traffic accidents.