Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Blog
Kevin Conway, a popular NASCAR driver, was in Florida for this year’s Daytona 500 when he received an e-mail that said officers had finally made an arrest for the hit-and-run car accident in Naperville that killed a woman back in 2008. He was notified that the driver had finally turned himself in. He turned himself in with help from Conway.
“To get that e-mail this morning was an awesome way to start the racing season,” said Conway.Our Chicago car accident attorneys understand that the hit-and-run driver showed up at the victim’s sister’s house in Joliet and admitted to being the man they had been looking for since the 2008 accident. The hit-and-run driver admitted to seeing reports about the young girl’s death on TV and in newspapers across the state. He even said that he saw Conway’s car in the nationally televised race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet and saw the featured photo of the girl he hit and killed years before. The message on Conway’s car pleaded for info regarding the hit-and-run driver.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Conway, the driver of the Nemco Motorsports racing team featured a missing persons ad on the back of his vehicle back in 2011. The ad was used to connect local communities supporting the event with NASCAR fans nationwide.
Conway says that there are so many fans across the nation, there are millions watching on television and thousands at the track. He felt that his car was an effective medium to help form a bond between NASCAR and the community and help to find this driver. That bond was successful. Just months after the race, he received the e-mail. The hit-and-run driver had finally turned himself in, four years after the accident.
After four years, the man involved in this hit-and-run accident has been charged and is currently sitting in jail with a $1 million bond.
What’s odd is that the hit-and-run driver didn’t turn himself into the police, but he showed up at the victim’s family’s house. Once he arrived, he rang the doorbell and said he had to speak with the victim’s sister. They invited him inside their home. They sat around the kitchen table and listened to the man’s confession.
He has now been charged in Will County with leaving the scene of an accident involving death.
According to AAA, drivers leave the scene of an accident for a number of reasons. They typically leave because they aren’t properly licensed, they’re drunk behind the wheel, they’re fighting immigration issues, they don’t have the proper insurance to cover the damages, they’re wanted for another crime, etc.
Whatever the cause, attorneys at our office are very aware of the ongoing problem, as we receive phone calls about hit-and-run accidents on a regular basis. When this type of accident occurs the offending driver is usually not located. In this situation, car crash attorneys from our office will pursue an uninsured motorist claim against our client’s own auto insurance policy.
If you or someone in your family has been injured or killed in a hit-and-run car accident in Chicago or anywhere else in the state, the Illinois personal injury attorneys and wrongful death lawyers at Abels & Annes offer free and confidential appointments to discuss the rights of accident victims. Call (866) 99-ABELS. There is no fee unless you win.
Additional Resources:
NASCAR helped search for driver who hit Melissa, by Kara Spak, Chicago Sun-Times
More Blog Entries:
Chicago personal injury lawyer to represent man hurt in hit-and-run accident, Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Blog, May 12, 2011
Alleged DUI driver arrested in connection with fatal Chicago hit-and-run accident, Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Blog, November 8, 2010