Pickup and combine auto accident claims life of Illinois driver

Accidents that involve large farm equipment and automobiles often result in fatalities. The sheer weight and size of heavy farm machines is enough to crush a passenger vehicle in such an auto accident. An Illinois woman recently lost her life when her vehicle crashed into a combine harvester.

The Illinois State Police reported that the 65-year-old woman, along with an 80-year-old passenger, was northbound in a pickup truck on Illinois 1 on a recent Wednesday afternoon. At the same time, a 73-year-old man was eastbound on a country road that intersects with Illinois 1. He was driving a combine harvester, and it is alleged that he proceeded across the highway after briefly stopping at the intersection. However, he apparently failed to yield for the approaching pickup truck.

The pickup truck driver was unable to avoid a collision and smashed into the combine. The impact caused the death of the pickup truck driver. Her passenger and the driver of the combine suffered no injuries. The Illinois State Police reported that the combine driver received a citation for failure to yield. The accident is still under investigation by the ISP and its accident reconstruction team, along with the coroner’s office.

The surviving family of the woman who lost her life in this auto accident may be facing high funeral and burial costs, among other financial losses. When a life is lost in an accident that is caused by the negligence of another party, the surviving family of the deceased is entitled to file a wrongful death claim in pursuit of recovery of monetary damages. In this case, the claim may be against the combine driver as well as the driver’s employer. Successful presentation of the claim in an Illinois civil court may result in an award of monetary restitution to compensate for end-of-life expenses and other damages as allowed by state laws.

Source: tribstar.com, “Marshall woman dies after truck, combine collide“, Oct. 29, 2014