Chicago Car Accident Attorney Blog

Chicago Police are looking for a car that caused a 3-car crash on Saturday which injured 9 people on the Bishop Ford Freeway (I-94) on Chicago's South Side.

The accident occurred on the Bishop Ford Freeway around 130th Street. None of the accident victims sustained threatening injuries, according to Illinois State Police.

Around 10 o'clock Saturday evening, a car struck a 2nd car in the northbound lanes. The 2nd car -- carrying 5 people inside -- struck a 3rd car before being pushed into a ditch.

The car which caused the accident fled the scene. Police where unable to get a description of the car.

No one in the third car required treatment.

One person was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in serious-to-critical condition, Fire Media Affairs spokesman Quention Curtis said.

Two more people were hospitalized in fair-to-serious condition -- one at MetroSouth Medical Center in Blue Island and one at Roseland Community Hospital -- and four more refused medical treatment and were released at the scene, Curtis said.

Illinois State Police are investigating.

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Road rage is to blame for the accident the killed 3 people Thursday night in Maywood, police said.

The crash happened around 10:30 p.m. at First and Chicago avenues, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.

Christopher A. McConnell, 21, of Oak Park, IL was chasing another car westbound on Chicago Avenue when he drove through a red light, broadsiding a Mercedes SUV which was entering the intersection on a green light, police said.

Nancy Tucki, 57, and Nicholas Randazzo, 36, both of Chicago, who were in the Mercedes, were killed.

McConnell was also killed.

According to Maywood Police Chief Tim Curry said the crash began over a road rage incident.

McConnell was upset when an 18 year old driving a minivan on Chicago Ave noticed McConnell's Honda stopped up on a curb against a stop sign. The 18 yr old notified River Forest Police.

“For some reason (McConnell) got angry,” attempting to engage the minivan driver with his car, Curry said.

The driver of the minivan driver attempted get away from McConnell, who followed him into Maywood. The minivan was able to cross irst Avenue against the red light.

“When (McConnell) got into the intersection, he broadsided a (Mercedes) SUV,” Curry said.

Randazzo was pronounced dead at the scene. Tucki and McConnell were taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where they were pronounced dead at about 11 p.m.

No other people were involved in the accident. Medical examiners will perform an autopsy to find out whether McConnell was driving drunk or under the influence.

Illinois State Police are reconstructing the accident. .

“From the information we have so far, we don't see it as necessary to file charges against (the 18-year-old minivan driver),” he said.

McConnell has a record with local authorities. In Oct., he was charged with theft for stealing a River Forest woman's 1997 Saturn from the parking garage Oak Park-River Forest High School. The next day 11th District Chicago police stopped McConnell who was driving the stolen car.

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Improper use of a child's safety seat remains the leading cause of injury and death in children riding in cars that are involved in accidents, according to experts.

According to research done by Dr. Karen Judy an assoc. professor in the pediatrics dept. at Loyola university Chicato Stritch School of Medicine, 70% of car seats are not properly installed. .

Using a child car seat properly is vital in keeping children safe in the event of an accident.

"If your child weighs less than 80 pounds and is shorter than 57 inches, a seat belt will lay across the child's neck and belly. In the event of an accident this puts pressure on sensitive areas with the potential for serious injuries, including spinal cord and abdominal injuries or even death. No matter how short the trip, if your child is in the car, he or she should be in a child safety seat," Judy said in the news release.

Dr. Judy offers the following tips to keep children safe in a car seat:

Make sure your child's car seat is the correct size for their age, height and weight. Infant car seats should always be placed rear-facing and can hold up carry an infant up to 22lbs. Children over the age of 1 and who weigh more than 20lbs can placed in forward facing car seats. These can be used until the child is at least 4 years, or weighs more than 40 lbs.

Over the age of 4 and up until 8 years, should use a booster seat until they are at least 4 feet 9 inches or taller, regardless of their age.

Children under the age of 13 should ride in the back seat. A child under the age of 13 and riding in the front seat of a car could be crushed by an airbag if it deploys.

Read all installation instructions carefully as well as any information containted in the owner's manual of your car which pertains to child safety seats. You can also have a professional check out your seat to make sure it is properly installed.

Safety seats should always be installed in the back seat.

When a child is in a safety seat, the harness should be level with the shoulders and the straps should be secure and tight.

If you can always use a new car seat. A used car seat may not have all of its parts including instructions on how to install it properly. Don't use a car seat that is more than 6 years old.

"By taking simple but important measures, parents can protect their children from the number one killer in our nation," Judy stated. She added that "studies have shown that by taking these precautions the likelihood of your child being killed or disabled in a motor vehicle crash decreases significantly. It's an easy way to save kids' lives."

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IDOT, Illinois State Police and hundreds of police officers throughout the State of Illinois will be out in full force this holiday weekend.

They will be conducting late night safety checks, looking for drivers under the influence, enforcing seatbelt laws, all in an effort to reduce traffic related deaths which occur over the holiday.

During the 2009 4th of July weekend, 13 people were killed in accidents. Five of those accidents involved a driver under the influence. Over 800 people were injured over that same period.

Making the problem worse are the drivers who do not use their seatbelts at night.

"July 4th is a great time of celebration for our country, but too often, those celebrations can turn deadly because of impaired driving and a failure to buckle up," said IDOT secretary Gary Hanning. "That is why IDOT is working with Illinois law enforcement to remind motorists to designate a sober driver before celebrating. If you don't and you choose to drink and driver, you'll be arrested."

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The City of Chicago claims that the red light cameras positioned at intersections throughout the city have made intersections safer.

However, Fox Chicago News, in an exclusive report, revealed that the occurence of accidents in these intersections have increased.

After reviewing the report, Assistant Professor Rajiv Shah looked at numbers the year before the cameras were installed and after the cameras were installed. He was surprised at the results.

Continue reading "Chicago intersections with red light camers show more crashes" »

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In just over 9 years Jonathan Jones has had 42 auto accidents.

"Maybe I should have been more careful. Maybe...well, all right. I defintely should have beenmore careful," Jones said.

But Jones has been video taped staging the car accidents. Inside Eidtion recently reported on Jones as being a con man who stages these accidents and then makes bogus claims with insurance companies.

Continue reading "Fraudulent Claims on the Rise in Illinois" »

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EDHS senior Chance Oster took a few minutes to chat before being killed in a car accident. "I mean it's a big thing," Oster said. "Acting this out, me being the dead one, it shows that me being dead might change some people's minds and make different choices."

A mock accident was preformed at the EDHS parking lot last Friday afternoon, one day before the school's prom.

It was the school's eighth performance of the mock accident since 1996, and it tends to turn some heads just one day before dolling up for prom. "We just look to impress upon young people what could happen if they make a poor choice and choose to drink and drive," said EDHS Principal Greg Herbst.

"We'd be naive if we didn't think it happened, and we'd be irresponsible if we didn't try and show them some of the negative things that can happen with those poor choices.

"It's a biannual event, we do it on even years, and this is my third one. It's quite a cooperative effort. East Dubuque Fire Department; Menominee-Dunleith Fire Department; East Dubuque Police Department; Paramount EMS; Galena EMS; we've had people from Rockford Hospital here; Bill Miller lets us use one of his caskets to make it as realistic as possible. If we can change the actions or decisions of just one student, than it's worth it."

Continue reading "Mock accidents makes impression on Illinois High School Seniors" »

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Judge Thomas Gainer ruled today that DUI evidence cannot be used in a trial against Chicago police officer John Ardelean.

Ardelean was charged with four counts of aggravated DUI and two counts of reckless homicide after the car he was driving hit a parked car killing both occupants of the car.

Killed in the accident was Erick Lagnuas and Miguel Flores.

Judge Gainer Jr. ruled that the evidence against Ardelean was illegally seized. Ardelean's attorneys challenged his arrest based on the fact the two other officers, a sergeant and a paramedic all testified that Ardelean did not appear drunk at the accident scene so they did not feel that a Breathalyzer was necessary at the time.

Additionally, Gainer ruled that Lt John Magruder wasn't a credible witness when he testified that Ardelean seemed like he was drunk. Magruder testified at a previous hearing that Ardelean had bloodshot eyes, smelled of booze and looked like "he was walking kind of funny with a limp or something."

Continue reading "DUI evidence against Chicago cop thrown out" »

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In recent months 5 Chicago metropolitan area adults have gone above and beyond by donating kidneys to strangers.

Of the 5 donors 2 are young women are are in their early 20's. They are in good health and want to help other people. Another is a father who lost his teenage daughter in an auto accident. He wants to honor her memory by donating a kidney. An woman who works as a dental hygienist who's father was her inpsiration for donating a kidney and the 5th person is a woman who wants to repay her cousin for an act of kindness.

Continue reading "Chicago area strangers step up for organ donation" »

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Is 65 mph not fast enough for Illinois drivers? Illinois law makers are considering an increase in the speed limit on Illinois roads to 70 mph. The increase would apply to interstates only and would allow all vehicles including large trucks, to travel at this speed.

Does a 5 mile an hour change make a difference. There are mixed opinions.

Some drivers believe that 70 mph is unnecessary and the a waste of gas. Some drivers also believe people will go faster than 70 mph.

Iowa's interstate roads went to 70 mph about five years ago. According to Doug Rick, an engineer with the Iowa Department of Transportation, fewer people are speeding. "As far as the flow of traffic, it seems more vehicles are driving close to the same speed than before."

However, there is a downside. According to Rick, the faster a car is moving, should they lose control, and end up in a crash, the crashes are more severe.
Originally Iowa experienced an increase in serous and fatal accidents by 15% percent. However, authorities say that the numbers have since declined and that 2009 had the lowest number of car accident fatalities in decades.

Last year Governor Quinn increased the speed limit in Illinois to 65 mph on interstate roads.
The new increase, if approved by the Illinois Senate Executive Committee would allow vehicles to travel at 70 mph on interstates, except aournd Chicago and urban areas.

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According to Charlene Amerson of Chicago, sudden acceleration of her Toyota caused her to crash her car through her garage.

Amerson was backing her car into the garage on Thursday morning when it unexpectedly accelerated. "I felt it accelerating so I tried to sop it by hitting the brakes but it never stopped."

Amerson filed a report with police. She had her car serviced two weeks ago because of the recall. She never experienced problems before. "It was going too fast, till it didn't hardly give me time to think what I should to do stop it."

Because Amerson's airbag did not deploy, investigators will be able to recover her car's "black box" to get information about the acceleration.

Investiators were recently able to determine that sudden acceleration was not the cause of a Prius crashing in New Yori. The data showed that the the driver never even applied the brakes.

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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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