Automobile Accidents

• Six hospitalized in bus crash

  Barry Doyle | October 07, 2007 6:07 PM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  On Saturday, a CTA bus driver lost control of his bus and crashed into a fence near Roosevelt and Kolmar.Six were hospitalized, one with severe injuries.There are always two important points to keep in mind when a CTA bus or train is involved in an accident like this.The first point is that the CTA has the legal status of a common carrier. Most drivers are required to use ordinary care for the...

• Man Killed in Fatal I-275 Motorcycle Crash

  Courtney Mills | August 22, 2007 1:07 PM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  Nicholas C. Kopplin of Overland, Missouri, was riding his motorcycle on Tuesday night at a high rate of speed when he lost control and ran it into the guard rail of the median dividing I-275. According to a Florida Highway Patrol statement, Kopplin was not wearing a helmet at the time he was thrown from the motorcycle, which occurred at around 6 o'clock in the evening.Nicholas C Kopplin, a...

• Senior citizen crashes through restaurant window

  Barry Doyle | July 22, 2007 9:37 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  In Wilmette last week, a 94-year old woman crashed through the front window of a Panera bread restaurant after losing control of her vehicle.Nine people were hospitalized following the crash, including several in critical condition.This incident not raises many questions about why this woman was behind the wheel of a car, but also underlines the importance of having full coverage, including...

• Sleeping trucker kills motorist and daughter

  Barry Doyle | June 15, 2007 8:45 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  Last week in Pennsylvania, a woman and her daughter were hit by a truck when the truck driver behind them fell asleep at the wheel as they slowed to enter a construction zone.The woman and her daughter suffered fatal injuries.Driver fatigue is a major issue in trucking safety. One study showed that 13% of all trucking related crashes were caused in part by driver fatigue.Regulations setting...

• Motorcyclists injured in multiple accidents

  Barry Doyle | June 13, 2007 9:30 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  An Indiana newspaper came out with a piece recently documenting the high number of accidents involving motorcycles and cars. The article noted that many of the accidents were the product of the car driver failing to yield the right of way to the motorcyclist, and postulated that the reason for this is that drivers are not used to looking for motorcyclists after their absence in winter months...

• Minnesota woman killed by commuter train

  Barry Doyle | June 10, 2007 10:07 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  Passengers boarding a Minneapolis Metro Transit train made a gruesome discovery last week: blood spatters on the side of the train. Apparently, a 79-year old woman who gotten off the train and was walking alongside it when she lost her balance, touched the side of the train to regain her balance, and was sucked underneath the train.One she was pulled underneath the train, she suffered fatal...

• Motoryclist hits telephone wire downed by drunken teen

  Barry Doyle | June 01, 2007 9:00 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  An Indiana teen is under arrest after he struck a telephone pole and then fled the scene. The impact between his vehicle and pole knocked the pole down, leaving a wire hanging over the road.A motorcyclist came upon the scene shortly thereafter and struck the wire, causing a loss of control. The motorcyclist suffered multiple fractures, but his passenger was killed due to blunt force trauma.One...

• Bicyclist hit by car

  Barry Doyle | May 29, 2007 9:00 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  A California dentist training for the AIDS Ride was hit by a car while out on a training ride. The motorist who hit him said that he did not notice the dentist on his bike.The dentist was severly injured in the accident, suffering several fractured ribs, a fractured shoulder, leg injuries, and road rash. He was in a medically-induced coma is on a ventilator.When a car crash happens, people...

• DuPage prosecutor drunk, on phone at time of crash

  Barry Doyle | May 26, 2007 3:42 PM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  Two weeks ago, a DuPage County prosecutor was killed in a car crash in which she crossed over the center line. The prosecutor had been drinking most of the afternoon, and had a .25 blood alcohol level at the time of the crash. Recent news accounts show that she was also driving a county-owned vehicle at the time of the crash and had been making a series of work-related phone calls on her cell...

• Bus driver drunk at time of crash

  Barry Doyle | May 24, 2007 8:15 AM | 0 CommentsCook County, IL

  Monday's horrific school bus accident is in the news again because authorities have learned that the bus driver was drunk at the time of the crash. The driver apparenly had three double shots of whiskey before dropping off the children, and then drank a six pack of beer before the crash.Fortunately, there were no children on the bus at the time of the accident, but the bus struck a pedestrian...