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.

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.

The Transportation Department reportedly is developing regulations that would prohibit commercial truck drivers from using cell phones while they are driving and banning the use of in-vehicle compueters that they may use to stay in contact with their dispatchers.

A recent study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute concluded that the risk of an accident by a distracted truck driver is 5.9 times greater as compared to a car dirver whose risk is 2.8 times greater. A truck driver's risk of an accidents increases to 6.7 times higher when they are reaching for something as opposed to a driver who's risk is 1.4 times higher.

Additionally, of the crashes involving commercial vehicles on US roadways, over 70% involved the driver being distracted. In 2007, over 400,000 large trucks were involved in accidents which resulted in almost 5000 deaths. Lawmakers are resisting the implementation of other, more distracting techonology by truck drivers.

There are three categories of distracted driving

Manual: When the driver takes one or obth hands of the wheel
Visual: When a driver takes their eyes off the road and;
Cognitive: When a driver takes their mind off the task of driving and what is happening on the road.

Using a hand-held device or in-vehicle computer distracts the driver in all three categories. In a recent study by Carnegie Mellon, using a cell phone reduces the activity the brain needs to drive by 37 percent.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Shoup said that when he arrived at the accident scene it was chaos. The witnesses were shouting Ocean 21, Ocean 21. He didn't realize at first what they were talking about. But it was the license plate of the Lexus that struck Maya and her family.

Maya was rushed to Children's Memorial Hospital where she was later pronounced dead. Shoup said him and another police officer broke down crying. "The one thing I can't handle in this job is seenig a child get hurt or die, " said Shoup.

Police were able to trace the car back to Michael Roth, 57 who lived on the far North Side of Chicago. He had a history of convictions for driving under the influence. In 1993 he was fined for blowing a stop sign and in 1994 he was fined again for improperly passing cars on a shoulder. He's been ticketed for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident. He also was convicted of an assault. He lost his license from 1984 to 1988, but at the time of the accident his license was valid. Roth denied driving the day that Maya was hit, but witnesses were able to identify him in a line-up.

Roth pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of a fatal accident and received an 8 year sentance. Rita Hochenbaum, Roth's cousin, understands the outrage surrounding his case.

1974, Roth was convited of robbery, in 2001 he was convicted of aggravated assaust for threatening his 80-year-old mother with a knife.

Roth's neighbors say he was kicked out of weekly poker games because he wanted to fight the elderly players.

For a short period Roth seemed to have turned his life around. He received a bachelor's degree from Domnican University and was working steady. But in his later years, he seemed to fall back into the old Roth.

HIs cousin said that he was devastated by taking Maya's life and by his mother's passing. His health deteriorated and he passed away on April 5, 2008.

On a Thursday morning this October, Shoup sits in his patrol car, grinning as he waves at preschoolers crossing Lincoln Park West. Since Maya's death, Shoup has issued about 35 tickets with the Remember Maya stickers.

Maya's father says that Shoup looks like a tough Chicago cop, but he's a softy. "He's a terrific example of someone who makes a difference in small but meaningful ways."

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.

The damage to the Bel Air is considerably more than on the Chevy Malibu. In fact, the Bel Air is destroyed. The front end of the car slides back into the passenger cabin which thrusts the steering wheel into the dummy driver's face. The roof collapses in on the car and the doors get blown off.

The Malibu, however, fares a lot better. Most of the impact is absorbed in the front end of the car. When the glass stops flying, the passenger cabin is in one piece.

The Bel Air did not have neck restraints or seat belts. Readings from the dummy inside the Bel Air showed that the driver would have sustained severe injuries. In the Malibu, the air bag protected the dummy, who, remarkably, was unscathed. The narrator of the video remarks that a foot injury could be possible.

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.

Susanna Negovan, Tom;s wife, says the worst is over. "He was hit head on. It was brutal. It was a brutal few days, but he had surgery and everything went really well, the nightmare is over.

Negovan's recovery will take about three months. He will need to wear a back brace, but he should be able to return to work within a few weeks.

Back in June, Negovan spent fourteen days in Afghanistan with soldiers from Illinois.

Susanna Negovan would prefer that her husband not ride motorcycles anymore.

Negovan says that he'll miss his motorcycle, "but out of respect for my wife, first Afghanistan and now this, I think I'll put the bikes away."

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.

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.

Scully was on an early morning ride on his road bike. He had just biked over the Chicago River bridge, following another cyclist as he headed south off the bridge. Just then a woman suddenly walked in front of them.

From what Scully was told, the cyclist in front of him swerved and then he swerved. The front tire on his bike struck the back tire of rider in front of him sending Scully flying head first into the ground.

Scully was wearing a helmet. However, after the accident, Scully was in a coma for a week. The accident caused paralysis on his right side and amnesia for which Scully underwent treatment for several months. Doctors say that if he had not been wearing a helmet he would have died.

Park District employees reported 126 accidents between 2002 and 2008. According to a Chicago Sun Time analysis of the Park District's incident reports, the accidents involved people colliding with each other, swerving to avoid an accident with another person or hitting a rough patch and losing control.

Dr. Khare, an ER doctor at Northwestern Memorial Hospital says it is not uncommon for him to see a minimum of 5 persons who have sustained injuries on the path in an eight hour shift. Particualry when the weather is nice. Khare says that he treats serious injuries like fractures, lacerations and concussions.

Friends of the Parks President Erma Tranter believes that the city needs to do a better job tracking the accidents that occur on the Lakefront Trail.

Rob Sadowksy, executive director of the Active Transportation Alliance says the Alliance wants to know what crashes are happening the most and why. "It would help us figure out how much of this is being caused by the conditions or the design of the trail, or how much of it is being caused by people crossing at spots where they shouldn't be."

Park District Spokesperson Michele Jones says that the city is always looking for new ways to improve public safety on the path. "Capital improvements are a huge part of our efforts to make sure there is enough room for everyone."

The city is planning the construction of a "flyover" ramp to improve the conditions on the trail from the Chicago River bridge to Ohio street, considered by many to be the most dangerous part of the trail. The ramp is contingent on the city receiving money from the federal government. The project would get underway in 2011.

Other improvements to the trail include the underpass at Solidarity Drive and the "bike ambassador" program designed to raise safety awareness.

CTA President Richard Rodriguez said that as of today, train operators, rail maintenance workers and rail station customer assistants are banned from using any type of electronic device including cell phones, MP3 players, wireless headsets and cell phones. These employees will not be allowed from having them in their possession while they are on duty.

The CTA is banning the use and possession of these devices after recent accidents were caused by operators who were using these devices while working.

The ban on these devices applies to bus drivers as well unless the driver is using it to contact the CTA control center. Because bus drivers are not issued company radios or cell phones, a bus driver can have a phone or other device in their possession, but it must be stored away in a backpack or purse while they are operating the bus.

According to CTA officials, over 200 complaints were lodged against bus drivers during the first half of 2009. These dirvers were using their cell phones while driving.

Under the new rules, any CTA employee using these devices while operating a moving vehicle, can be terminated immediately.