Recently, a single car accident occurred on Illinois State Highway 109. A witness believes the driver of that car was speeding since the vehicle quickly left his line of sight. When the vehicle he was in came upon the car accident, it was clear that both the driver and passenger were injured.
The witness did not see what caused the accident, but he did see smoke, debris flying and the car spin around. By the time the witness approached the scene, the car had come to a rest. Illinois State Police say the car went into a ditch, rolled over at least once and hit a culvert.
During the crash, the 38-year-old passenger in the car was thrown out of the vehicle. She lived long enough to be transported to a hospital in the area, but her injuries were too severe. She succumbed to those injuries sometime later. The driver was also injured and, at last report, was in serious condition at the hospital.
One source reported that a medical issue caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle, but that was not confirmed by police. The driver has so far been charged with not having a valid driver’s license or insurance and improper lane usage. It is not yet known whether he will be charged with the death of the passenger.
Even if the police do not charge the driver, the family of the passenger may file a wrongful death claim against him. Successfully proving that the driver was negligent in this car accident could lead to an award of damages to the family. Any monetary award will not bring back their loved one, but it may help with the costs that inevitably accompany an unexpected death.
Source: thetelegraph.com, “Crash claims one”, Nathan Grimm, Aug. 1, 2014