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  1. #1

    Default Family Member Was Hit by a Car and Killed

    My question involves an injury that occurred in the state of: Illinois

    Two months ago a family member was hit and killed by a wreckless driver. My sister was walking on the right shoulder of a road with two of her friends when some idiot swerved out of his lane and hit them. My sister was killed from the impact while thankfully her friends were ok. The accident occured at around 9pm while on their way to the local carnival that was in town. The accident happened almost right in front of the town high school. She was 18 years old.

    I would like to know if my family has an legal recourse against the village. First, the street where they were walking along has been a safety concern for over a decade now. Over a decade ago there were complaints that the roadway was not safe and there were students walking to and from school without any type of reasonably safe way to cross the street. Since then the size of the student body has tripled and nothing was ever done. The road is also a well known speeding area and the police constantly have to patrol it for this reason. There are not even curbs on the side of the road to prevent cars from careening off and hitting students as they walk to and from school. Second, the road is very dimly lit on any given night. On the day the accident occured, the carnival was in town and 1 of the 3 routes people take to get to the carnival is by driving or walking down this dimly lit, unsafe roadway. It seems to me that the town once again was negligent by not providing any type of lighting on this roadway, especially when the carnival was in town. The day following the accident, the police did indeed setup a large spotlight to illuminate the road to increase safety for people traveling down this road to get to the carnival...something which should have been done from the very beginning.

    The driver of the vehicle never stopped after the collision. Instead he just speed off and never came forward. Although the police have investigaged this and believe to know the make and model of the vehicle involved, they have yet to name any suspects. Right now it looks like they will not solve this case unless they get a break.

    Thank you for reading and stay safe.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
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    New Jersey
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    Default Re: Family Member Was Hit by a Car and Killed

    Quote Quoting 8thgear
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    I would like to know if my family has an legal recourse against the village. First, the street where they were walking along has been a safety concern for over a decade now. Over a decade ago there were complaints that the roadway was not safe and there were students walking to and from school without any type of reasonably safe way to cross the street.
    Over the past decade, how many people have been struck and or killed while walking on this specific stretch of roadway?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
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    2

    Angry Re: Family Member Was Hit by a Car and Killed

    i am sorry for this

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    9,096

    Default Re: Family Member Was Hit by a Car and Killed

    Unfortunately, I believe your suit will be against the driver. The village should have the roadway better lit, but your sister chose to walk upon it... thereby sharing the liability.

    Two months seem forever and I understand your anxiety. Do not lose hope just yet that the driver will be found. It is not unusual for a person to hide a car in such an accident for a few months before repair in the hopes that the damage will not be connected.

  5. #5

    Default Re: Family Member Was Hit by a Car and Killed

    Quote Quoting Who'sThatGuy
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    Over the past decade, how many people have been struck and or killed while walking on this specific stretch of roadway?
    I'm not sure how to find this information. Google did not turn up anything except a few articles talking about safety concerns for students walking to and from school down this road. Perhaps I can get some accident reports from the police but I believe this should be something an attorney handles.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Oklahoma
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    695

    Default Re: Family Member Was Hit by a Car and Killed

    Although it is an unfortunate incident the village doesn't share any blame for it. It is not the villages responsability to light every roadway because an accident may happen.

    Second, in which direction were the pedestrians traveling? What were they wearing? I ask because it would seriously impact any civil claims. Pedestrians are suppose to walk against traffic (when no sidewalk or other walkway is present) so that they can visually see any vehicles approaching and react accordingly. If it was at night, the pedestrians should be wearing light colored clothing to help identify their presence to motorist. When a walkway is not present, people walking along the road are not expected and the onus is on the pedestrian to alert drivers to their presence.

    Third, as you've pointed out the village took an appropiate action in elevating the patrol patterns to monitor the roadway. It appears that the village did react to the pattern of behavior on the road.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    Default Re: Family Member Was Hit by a Car and Killed

    Your family needs to go over the specifics with a lawyer in your state who is familiar with making road defect claims and with issues of governmental immunity.

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