Chicago Car Accident Attorney Blog

On January 1st, Illinois joined several other states banning texting while driving. The law bascially bans drivers from any type of web-surfing while driving including reading emaiils and updating social networking on sites such as MySpace and Facebook.

It appears that other laws may be down the pipeline. Technology that uses the internet is the newest target for lawmakers who want to ban the use of hand held and in vehicle technology because of its contribution to the problem of distracted driving.

Recent studies have indicated that drivers of large commercial vehicles become even more dangerous when they are allowed to use handheld devices or computers in the cab of their vehicles. Automobile drivers have reason to worry.

Continue reading "No more texting for commercial truck drivers" »

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Eddie Lumpkin 48, of Englewood, was charged with homicide after striking and killing 6 year- old Jada Washington on Tuesday.

Jada and her Aunt were crossing the street on the 7300 block of S. Ashland Ave., when the van that Lumpkin was driving struck the pair.

In addition to homicide charges, Lumpkin was cited for DUI, no insurnace, failling to carry a driver's license, failure to reduce speed, negligent driving and strikng a pedestrian.

Jada's family wonders why Eddie Lumpkin still had a valid driver's license. His driving history includes being stopped by police more the two dozen times and has been issued 40 tickets for moving violations.

However, since he had only been convicted on 6 of the tickets (the rest of his tickets were dismissed), his driving record did not alert authorities.

Jada's aunt was tkane to Advocate Christ Medical Center in critical condition.

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The City of Chicago is being sued by United Airliens for more than $1,000,000 for an accident that took place in 2005.

A United jet was pushing back from its gate at O'Hare Airport when it struck a city truck.

The lawsuit which was filed on Friday, states that the truck was not supposed to be where it was and that ground control was never notifiied by the City of Chicago that the truck was in the vacinity of the aircraft.

The airlines was hoping to collect from AIG, insurance carrier for the city. United's own insurance paid out a little more than $400,000. The City of Chicago is also triying to collect $21,600 for damage to the truck.

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Jeffery McCallum, 25, of the 3200 block of west Warren Blvd., was issued several citations after the behicek he was driving plowed into the Duwell Fish Company restaurant.

McCallum was cited for negligent driving, failure to reduce speed, not having insurance and another drivers license violation.

Shortly after midnight on Thursday morning, McCallum was driving a '98 Lincoln headed south on Pulaski when he was attempting to turn at 5th Ave. McCallum lost control of his car and hit a brick column which was supporting the roof at the restaurant.

Harrison District polioce say that speed was probably an issue and the he "probably took the turn too fast.

McCallum was not under the influence. He was taken to Mt. Sinai Medical center with a possible broken arm. McCallum's passenger was taken to Cook County Hospital for observation.

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Beginning January 1, 2010 a new Illinois law prohibits texting while operating a motor vehicle, "a person may not operate a motor vehicle on a roadway while using an electronic communication device to compose, send, or read an electronic message. An electronic message is defined as "Including, but not limited to electronic mail, a text messae, an instant message, or a command or request to access an Internet site."

William Poncin, a professor of law enforcement and justice admistration at Western, believes that the law is needed. "There are statistics of lots of accidents when you start getting distracted on the road."

In addition to the restrictions about texting while driving, it is prohibited to use a cell phone while driving in construction areas and school zones, although hands-free is still okay.

If you're caught texting while driving, the fine is set at $75. It will also go on your record. After three citations, your driver's license will be suspended. Eighteen other states have similar laws.

Another law put into effect this year is the punishment for uninsured drivers. If you get into a car accident which causes physical injuries and you do not have insurance, you will be charged iwth a Class A Misdeameanor instead of a moving violation. You may also spend up to a year in prison and be socked with a $2500 fine.

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Ford announced their plans on Tuesday to move production of the new Ford Explorer to its Chicago plant. This will add an additonal 1200 jobs to the Torrence Ave. plant.

The new Ford Explorer is smaller than the original and is expected to be better on gas mileage. The Ford Taurus and Lincoln MKX are both built at the Torrence Ave. plant.

According to industry experts, the new Explored will average 23% better mileage.

Analysts from IHS Global Insight describes the new Explorer, "It will be a high-volume, high profit, car-based crossover.

Although the car industry has lost more than forty thousand jobs in the last few years, auto makers are setting their sights on developing more fuel efficient vehicles. The industry is expecting to add at least 4000 jobs to their payrolls this year.

In the next year and a half, Ford is expecting to launch a redesign of the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX, a new "Super Duty" pickup truck, a Mustang GT with a V8 engine, a compact Ford Focus in addition to the Explorer.

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Several times weekly, Chicago Police Officer Steve shoups parks his patrol carl at the intersection of Belden and Lincoln Park West waiting for someone to blow a stop sign.

He'll stop the offender and hand them a ticket , but not before applynig a sticker to it that reads "REMEMBER MAYA! Maya was killed by a driver who failed to stop at a stop sign and yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk. STOP AT STOP SIGNS! YIELD TO PEOPLE IN CROSSWALKS!"

It happened on May 20, 2006. Maya, who was just four-years-old, was with her family when they were crossing Lincoln Park West walking westbound from the Zoo, when a Lexus, which was headed northbound, blew the stop sign

Continue reading "Chicago officer keeps memory alive" »

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American cars may not be as popular as they used to be, but according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, they are a lot safer.

The IIHS recently conducted a head-on collision involving a 2009 Chevy Mailbiy and 1959 Chevy Bel Air.

The crash was a "frontal offset" crash that puts stress on the frame of the car. Both cars were moving at 40 miles per hour.

Continue reading "American cars: Safer today than they used to be" »

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Marian Anderson was outraged after learning that her husband was killed this past week by a man who was on parole from a reckless homicide conviction.

For the second time, Brian Dozier, 52, was charged with reckless homicide. He was given a $2,000,000 bond on Sunday.

Anderson was watching TV last Thursday morning when she learned about the accident that killed her husband.

Continue reading "Chicago widow outraged after husband's death" »

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WGN's Tom Negovan suffered serious injuries to his back and his head after being struck on his motorcycle over the weekend.

Negovan, who normally wears a helmet when he rides, decided not to wear his helmet on Sunday. "It was just a nice sunny day. I thought I'd take a quick ride without and, sure enough, that's the day."

Negovan originally planned on taking a short ride on the Kennedy. Traffic was heavy so he decided to exit the expressway and headed south on Harlem Ave.

The car that hit Negovan was headed north on Harlem. The driver made a left hand turn in front of Negovan. Negovan remembers seeing the driver make the turn in front of him but does not recall the moment that the driver hit him.

Continue reading "Chicago's Tom Negovan feeling lucky to be alive after motorcycle accident" »

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A multi car accident on Monday night resulted in injury to five people.

The accident involved three vehicles including two SUVs. The accident happened near Pulaski and Archer on the Chicago's southwest side.

Three of the victims were listed in critical condition and two were listed in fair condition. All were taken to nearby area hospitals.

No details about the accident were available.

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Chicago police are back conducting their crosswalk stings, this time at night.

According to authorities, officers conducted their first night time sting in the Lakeview neighborhood at Belmont and Orchard at 8pm. The purpose of the sting is to reduce after dark accidents between pedestrians and drivers.

Officers will use several different strategies to catch drivers who endanger pedestrians including under cover officers posing as pedestrians. If a driver doesn't yield to the pedestrian, the car will be pulled over and ticketed. The fine for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk range from $50 to $500.

Police will continue their crosswalk sting through the fall. To find out where the stinges will be conducted visit www.cityofchicago.org/transportation.

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