An SUV rolled over on Wednesday on the Edens Expressway killing its driver, Michael Kalinski. The SUV Chevrolet Trailblazer vehicle crashed when the driver lost control for unknown reasons. The vehicle then flipped and rolled into a ditch off the Edens Expressway near Skokie.
The driver was apparently not wearing a seat belt and was ejected form the vehicle.
Every year approximately 5,000 people die and over 100,000 people are injured in large truck crashes according to the Public Citizen website. Despite the fact that large trucks make up just 3 percent of all registered vehicles, large trucks account for 9 percent of all vehicles involved in fatal crashes and are responsible for 12 percent of all crashes involving fatalities.
Congress is currently working on a bill to limit the size of large trucks on our roads. Any such legislation should be supported by anyone concerned about highway safety.
A Chicago jury awarded plaintiff, Martha Aguado $227,201 in her case against the City of Chicago for a broken patella she suffered as a pedestrian as a result of falling in a pothole in a crosswalk at Western Ave. and Foster Ave. in the City of Chicago. The plaintiff claimed that a puddle covered up the hole. When the jury was asked whether the condition of the City of Chicago’s crosswalk/sidewalk presented an unreasonable risk of harm on the premises, the jury answered “yes”.
According to the National Safety Council:
Drivers who use cell phones are four times more likely to be in an auto crash while using a cell phone.
There is no difference in the cognitive distraction between hand-held and hands- free devices.
This week Chicago police will begin pulling over drivers who do not yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk. Moving-violation ticket fines range up to $500.00. The city will use plainclothes police officers posing as pedestrians at intersections without stop signs to implement the sting operation.
Additionally, legislation has been introduced in the Illinois Senate that will require Illinois drivers not only to yield but to come to a full stop when pedestrians are in a crosswalk. Violators would face a minimum $150.00 fine.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics show that there have been more than 6,000 auto-pedestrian crashes in Illinois, with more that 3,000 of these accidents occurring annually in the city of Chicago.
Nearly 100 Children were killed and 2,000 injured in 2007 when they were backed over, mostly on residential driveways the National Highway Traffic Safety Council reported.
The report found that 221 people were killed and 14,000 were injured by backing vehicles. Ninety-nine of the deaths and 2,000 injuries were children under 14 years old.
Legislation sponsored by former New York Senator Hilary Clinton will require vehicles to offer additional mirrors, sensor devises and cameras to help reduce blind spots with the intention of reducing the number of these tragic accidents.
A taxi struck and killed Minh Pham, 89, on Saturday, on the Northside of Chicago about one block from his house. The accident happened at about 9 a.m.
The taxi driver was cited for no insurance and for failure to exercise due care for a pedestrian in the roadway.
Over the course of years Debbie Blake, deceased, complained to her doctors about shoulder pain. She was prescribed pain medication and anti-inflammatories but nothing relieved the pain. After years she was finally sent for an MRI which revealed a cancerous tumor located in her lung pressing on her brachial plexus. The MRI also showed that the cancer had metastasized to her brain which eventually lead to her death. A jury found against BroMenn Physicians Management Corp. for failing to diagnose the cancer sooner, depriving the plaintiff a chance to be cured. The jury awarded the estate of Debbie Blake $704,636.
The National Safety Council is calling for a complete ban on cell phone use while driving, even cell phones that are “hands free”. The group cited research in which it was found that the use of a cell phone while driving increases the risk of a crash by four fold.
A four year old boy was attacked and mauled by the family’s Rottweiler on the Southwest Side of Chicago on Sunday. The boy was identified as Alex Angulo. The boy was taken to Holy Cross Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A neighbor on the 3800 block of West 61st Street said he feared the dog because it appeared aggressive and sometimes got free from the backyard where it was confined.
