Car accident: Driver strikes 3 vehicles –1 death, 2 injuries
A 20-year-old Illinois man allegedly caused devastation on Route 120 on a recent Monday afternoon. It was reported that he was driving a landscape truck with an attached trailer; the truck and trailer apparently to belonged to a landscape designer in Vernon Hills. Police reported that the man driving the landscape truck, with one passenger, was eastbound on Route 120 when he allegedly crossed over into the westbound traffic lanes and then caused not only one car accident, but three.
The first collision occurred when the landscape truck reportedly struck the side of a dump truck. Police say the driver continued traveling left of the center line and smashed into a passenger car, causing the death of the car’s driver. This was followed by yet another collision where the landscape truck struck another vehicle.
The drivers of the two trucks were both hospitalized with injuries of unknown severity. The passenger who was in the landscape truck, along with the victim of the third crash, were treated and released at the scene of the accident. The driver of the car in the second collision was declared dead at the accident scene. An investigation by the county sheriff’s office is reportedly underway. The media report made no mention of alcohol use by any of the drivers.
Although negligence may seem obvious in some cases of car accidents, civil claims can only be filed if they are substantiated by documented evidence of negligence. The family of the driver whose life was lost in the second car accident in this case may pursue compensation for end-of-life expenses by filing a wrongful death claim in an Illinois civil court. The drivers who were injured may follow the same route by filing personal injury claims in pursuing compensation for medical expenses. In this case, the landscaping company that owns the truck that was involved in these accidents can also be named as a defendant in any civil claims that are related to this incident.
Source: Grayslake Il. Patch, “UPDATE: Police Investigate Fatal Crash Involving Dump Truck, Landscape Truck, Van, Car“, Amie Schaenzer, June 23, 2015