Car accident on gravel road injures teen driver and 3 passengers

A number of car accidents in Illinois involve teenage drivers who fail to control their vehicles. Many of these crashes result in serious injuries. In some cases, lives are lost. One such a car accident occurred in Clay County on a recent Tuesday evening.

According to the Illinois State Police, a 17-year-old Mason teen was driving an SUV north on a gravel road near Iola shortly before 9 p.m. For reasons not yet determined, the vehicle went into a skid that caused it to leave the roadway. An accident report indicates that the young driver overcorrected to the right, and the Jeep smashed into a utility pole with enough force to snap it in half. The vehicle then rolled onto its passenger side.

Officers reported that none of the occupants were restrained by safety belts. The driver ended up on the passenger side of the vehicle, and all three passengers — an 18-year-old male and two 15-year-olds — were ejected. The driver and the two younger passengers were transported to hospitals by road, and the other passenger was airlifted to a St. Louis hospital.

This driver was ticketed for several violations, including failure to avoid a car accident by slowing down and failure to secure juvenile passengers. However, this may not be the only consequence of the teen driver’s apparent negligence. The injured victims will be entitled to pursue recovery of financial and emotional damages they sustained. They may file personal injury claims in an Illinois civil court against the driver and any separate owner of the vehicle. If negligence can be established, monetary judgments may be entered.

Source: wjbdradio.com, “Four Injured in Crash Near Iola”, Oct. 5, 2016