A motorcycle crash may leave a family with unexpected expenses

After a long winter many motorcycle owners enjoy cruising Illinois roadways when beautiful spring weather arrives. Unfortunately, negligent drivers of larger vehicles can be very dangerous to a bike rider. Recently, a man was sentenced to 25 years in prison after he was involved in a fatal motorcycle crash and failed to report it.

In the evening hours of a day in May 2015, a couple was traveling westbound when a sedan headed eastbound crossed into their lane and collided with them. A nearby firefighter heard the accident and approached the scene to offer any needed assistance. He noticed as he arrived that the driver of the sedan was out of his car and appeared to be looking at papers. The sedan driver claimed the firefighter arrived before he could contact authorities. Both the male and female motorcycle riders succumbed to their injuries on the scene of the accident before being able to be transported to a medical facility.

As the firefighter assessed the scene, the sedan driver ran through a nearby field. Later, the man’s girlfriend reported that he arrived on foot to her house wet, dirty and scratched up. He apparently told her the accident occurred, but claimed to have no recollection of how it happened.

The sedan driver was charged with a felony because he did not report the motorcycle crash. The family of the deceased couple, as a result of the tragedy, had to face funeral costs and other monetary damages. Experienced Illinois personal injury attorneys are able to offer advice and support to families on their litigation rights to pursue wrongful death compensation in civil court. If negligence of the sedan driver is formally established, a civil court may award compensation to the surviving family. Proof of the man’s criminal conviction may be enough to establish liability for damages in civil court.

Source: qctimes.com, “Man sentenced to 25 years for hit-and-run deaths of couple on motorcycle“, Jan. 4, 2017