On behalf of James Crawley & Associates, Ltd. posted in Car Accidents on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
In 2004, a fatal car accident occurred when a recalled PT Cruiser that was offered by Enterprise Rent-A-Car spewed power-steering fluid and caught fire. A 24-year-old woman and her 20-year-old sister died in the crash, and their mother won a civil suit that awarded the family roughly $15 million.
That car accident and resulting lawsuit - along with growing concerns over the lack of regulation for agencies who offer recalled vehicles - has prompted reform in the rental car industry. Recently, Hertz entered an agreement with Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety that will see the company's processes for dealing with recalled vehicles regulated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
On behalf of James Crawley & Associates, Ltd. posted in Fatal Car Accidents on Friday, February 17, 2012
What should have been a safe ride home for a 42-year-old Chicago resident turned into his final moments of life. After getting into a car accident, the man took shelter in the back of the responding officer's police car. The car was blocking multiple lanes of traffic while the police sorted out the crash scene.
As the 42-year-old sat in the back, a 32-year-old man who was driving while intoxicated smashed into the back of the squad car. The 42-year-old did not survive the car accident and the responding officer received a concussion after his car spun around twice due to the force of the collision.
On behalf of James Crawley & Associates, Ltd. posted in Auto-pedestrian Accidents on Wednesday, February 8, 2012
It is preached to us before we even get through driving class, and for good reason. Inattentiveness behind the wheel could cause serious harm not only to the driver, but other drivers and pedestrians that are on the street.
For one injured pedestrian, it appears the driver who hit him was not focused on his surroundings and driving recklessly. The 32-year-old man was crossing the street around the West Town area of Chicago when a car making a left turn struck him.
On behalf of James Crawley & Associates, Ltd. posted in Car Accidents on Monday, January 30, 2012
Reckless driving is against the law for one simple reason - it is a dangerous act that can lead to serious or even fatal injuries. Driving while texting and the more common occurrence of driving while intoxicated are just two examples of reckless driving. Though neither intoxication nor distractions were at the center of a car accident last weekend in Chicago, reckless driving still seems to be the reason for the wreck.
On the South Side of Chicago, four vehicles were involved in a car accident that sent two people to the hospital in serious-to-critical condition. According to witnesses of the early morning collision, one car was speeding and then ran a red light, sideswiping another vehicle that was passing through the intersection.
On behalf of James Crawley & Associates, Ltd. posted in Hit And Run Accidents on Thursday, January 26, 2012
A prominent story that has recently claimed the headlines in Chicago is coming to a close. A jury convicted an off-duty police officer of reckless homicide, leaving the scene of a fatal accident and aggravated drunken driving after he crashed his car into a 13-year-old boy in 2009. The officer faces a maximum prison sentence of 15 years.
This fatal hit-and-run incident is an unfortunate reminder that serious, and sometimes deadly, accidents can happen when a reckless driver gets behind the wheel. Whether the driver is speeding, swerving across lanes or - like in this story - intoxicated, it is imperative for the victim in an accident to seek legal representation.
On behalf of James Crawley & Associates, Ltd. posted in Auto-pedestrian Accidents on Thursday, January 19, 2012
Most Chicago residents have seen it - someone walks down the street, bobbing their head as they listen to some music on their cell phone. The popularity of portable music devices has turned the walk home from work into a personalized concert for quite a few pedestrians.
Well a new pedestrian accident study done by the University of Maryland shows the dangers of wearing headphones and turning up the tunes when vehicles are around. According to the report, serious injuries suffered by headphone-wearing pedestrians when struck by a vehicle have more than tripled in six years.
On behalf of James Crawley & Associates, Ltd. posted in Car Accidents on Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Driver negligence has always been an issue in the United States, but the concern seems to be growing. Many states are passing new legislation that limits the use of cell phones when driving, while other states are bolstering driving laws to pertain to new or teen drivers. These are good steps towards curbing car accidents caused by reckless driving.
Unfortunately driver negligence cannot be completely stopped, and no one knows that more than a 37-year-old police officer in Milwaukee. The officer was hit while he was standing outside of his police car by a 19-year-old driver. The young man was driving on the wrong side of the road and jumped a curb, ultimately causing the car accident.
On behalf of James Crawley & Associates, Ltd. posted in Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents on Saturday, January 7, 2012
When Chicago drivers are involved in a car accident, the protection of the vehicle sometimes saves them from serious injury or death. Unfortunately, there have been many cases where people have ended up on the side of the road and were killed by drivers who weren't paying attention. In those instances, the victims do not have the protection of their motor vehicle and the crash often results in a fatality.
That unfortunate scenario played out in early December on Interstate 290, when a 49-year-old victim was struck as he stood outside of his pickup truck along the freeway. Police did not explain why the man was outside of his truck at the time of the crash. A box truck driver traveling on the Chicago roadway veered into the shoulder and struck the standing victim and his truck at about 6 a.m. The man was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital where he was pronounced dead about 20 minutes after the crash.
On behalf of James Crawley & Associates, Ltd. posted in Car Accidents on Thursday, December 29, 2011
One act of negligence, even something as momentary as distracted driving, can set in course a chain of events that is often impossible to predict. Chicago, with its busy roadways and numerous interstate highways, is home to a high volume of car accidents every year. With the complication of the busy streets of such a large city, distracted driving or unfamiliarity with the streets can lead to unpredictable outcomes. In some cases, this distraction can lead to a car accident.
That seems to be the case in a recent crash between two women. A car accident in early December in downtown Chicago happened shortly before 9 a.m. on a Saturday. A woman who claimed she did not know where she was going caused an accident when she changed lanes on South Grand. The 49-year-old woman says she did not see the vehicle driven by a 40-year-old woman from Rochester, and it appears her disorientation was at the root of her distracted driving. Her vehicle collided with the front driver's side of the other car. Police cited the 49-year-old for an improper lane change. Her car had to be towed from the scene.
On behalf of James Crawley & Associates, Ltd. posted in Auto-pedestrian Accidents on Thursday, December 22, 2011
The simple act of crossing the street in a big city like Chicago is treacherous, even for those obeying the law and using the designated crosswalks. A car accident can occur in the flash of a light, and it is not always obvious what happened when a pedestrian is mowed down by a motor vehicle. The pedestrian is gravely injured in many instances, or worse, and sometimes the only person with direct knowledge of the incident is the one that police believe caused the tragedy in the first place.
Police have released information about a 76-year-old female Chicago resident who was killed crossing the street on Dec. 3 at about 7:15 a.m. She was in a crosswalk in the 4500 block of Kimball Avenue on the city's north side when the crash happened. A van struck the woman in the Albany Park neighborhood and then fled the scene of the car accident. The woman lived on North Spaulding Avenue and was declared dead at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center just after noon. The van driver was later taken into custody, and formal charges are pending.
