Illinois Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Roads were icy on I74 on Wednesday morning after a major winter storm dumped several inches of snow on area roads. In East Peoria, drivers who were trying to avoid a two car crashed ended up becoming invlved in the accident themselves.

Three peope were sent to St. Francis Medical Center.

State Police Capt Dean Kennedy said that between the hours of 6 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., there were at least six accidents, mostly on I39, which were caused by slick road conditions. Approximately 7 other cars had slid off roadways.

According to Florida police, last fall Kenenth Upmann hit a child with his car.

Upmann was arrested last Friday by Sheriff's deputies in Joe Davies County, Illinois. Florida authorities asked that Upmann be held so he could be brought to Floriday to face charges.

Illinois authorities released him from before Florida police could come and get him.

On October 7, 2008, Upmann struck 3 year old Gage Root and dragged him for almost 45 feet.
He survived but is now confined to a wheel chair.

An arrest warrent was issued for Upmann's arrest based on evidence Florida police were able to collect.

Continue reading "Illinois, Florida authorities at odds over hit and run case" »

James, Powell, 71, of Matteson was killed when the van he was driving hit the back of a semi-truck. Powell was trying to avoid another accident on the Dan Ryan, according to Illinois State Police.

Powell of 624 Hghland Rd., was pronounced dead at the scene at 7:25 am.

According to Police, a car headed southbound on the Dan Ryan hit the retaining wall and stopped in the center lanes around 4:00 a.m. just south of 79th st. To avoid hitting the car, the semi truck slammed on its brakes. Powell was unable to stop his minivan on time and hit the back of the semi-truck.

James, Powell, 71, of Matteson was killed when the van he was driving hit the back of a semi-truck. Powell was trying to avoid another accident on the Dan Ryan, according to Illinois State Police.

Powell of 624 Hghland Rd., was pronounced dead at the scene at 7:25 am.

According to Police, a car headed southbound on the Dan Ryan hit the retaining wall and stopped in the center lanes around 4:00 a.m. just south of 79th st. To avoid hitting the car, the semi truck slammed on its brakes. Powell was unable to stop his minivan on time and hit the back of the semi-truck.

Kelly D. Rossi, 32 of Schaumburg, Illinois was killed early Wednesday morning when the car he was driving left the road and struck a parkway tree. Rossi was headed south on Salem Drive in Schaumburg at around 2:15 a.m according to police.

Rossi was take to Alexian Brothers by ambulance where he was pronounced dead. Rossi, was the person in the car. He was not wearing a seatbelt, according to authorities.

Police are asking anyone with any information about the accident to contact them at 847-882-3534.

On Friday, Judge Timonthy M. Lucas, Tazewell County Circuit Court, began hearing testimony in a hit and run accident that killed a Creve Coeur teenager in April 2008.

Todd C. St. Cerny 17, of Creve Coeur was struck and killed along I-474 on April 25, 2008.

Truck driver Ross T. Kindelberger, 51 of McLean, was charged with failure to report an accident involving a death, which is a Class 2 felony. Kindelberger originally told authorities that the thought he hit a deer. Later in his interview with police Kindelberger admitted that it could have been a person and that he was afraid to go back and check.

Eric Tibbs, Assistant State's Attorney, said a woman driving on the same road saw a shoe on the side of the road. On her return trip, she stopped to investigate and found St. Cerny's body in a grassy area. Evidence found at the scene included pieces from a white semi truck with a partial indentificaiton number.

The Illinois State Police and the Creve Coeur Police conducted investigations at the accident scene and were able to trace Kindelberger's truck through an indentification number.

According to Kindelberger's attorney Jeff Flanagan, St. Cerny walked out into traffic and was hit by the semi.

No illegal drugs or alcohol were found in Kindelberger's system. Judge Lucas' decision will be made on May 15 at 2:30p.m.

Fadi Rustom, an attorney for the St. Cerny family, has advised them not to comment on the case.

Kane Cuonty sheriff's police arrested a Chicago man on Saturday night after he was found slumped over in his car that had run off the road and into a ditch.

Artur Zablaniczny, 46, was so intoxicated the the deputy who found his 2001 Dodge Intrepid, was unable to rouse him. The officer had to break into Zablaniczny's vehicle.

Zablaniczny ran his car off the road and into a ditch along Highway 25 near Courier Ave. Zaglaniczny was charged with failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and driving under the influence.

Fort Lauderale police were searching neighbohoods looking for Derek W. Cook, 37 of Tamarc, the driver who struck and killed two British businessmen in Fourt Lauderale, FL.

The owner of the car, Ryan LeVin, of Chicago, IL contends that he was not the driving the car when the two men were struck by LeVin's Porsche on Seabreeze Boulevard.

Police have not been able to locate Cook.

Sandra Knutten, a traffic homicide investigator, secured a warrant to take DNA from Cook and match it with evidence found on the Porsche's air bag which deployed during the accident.

LeVin's attorney, Keith Seltzer, says LeVin was not the driver of the car at the time of the accident and that the media has "sensationalized" the crash.

An affidavit, filed in court on Tuesday, describes the moments leading up to and after the crash including the conversation police had with LeVin about 15 minutes after the accident.

According to the affidavit, LeVin and Cook had been together at a local strip club on Federal Highway until about 1:30 in the morning. Shortly after he left the club, LeVin was stopped by police on Sunrise Blvd for a loud exhaust. LeVin was given a warning by the officer who told him that he could get arrested if he didn't get the exhaust fixed.

LeVin who was still on probation from a 2007 incident in whe he ran over a policer officer and led authorities on a high speed chase, became nervous that the could get arrested so he called Cook.

Cook met LeVin and they switched cars. LeVin drove Cook's BMW home.

Police received a call around 2:48 am, that the two men were hit by a car near the Courtyard by Marriott on Seabreeze Blvd . The two men were in town to recruit employees for their company in England.

The Porsche was sited by police at a red light on Southeast 23rd Ave and 17th St. The car had a shattered windshield and the front-end of the car was damaged.

The car was abandoned on a ramp off Interstate 595 where authorities had it towed. Police homicide investigators found what appeared to be human tissue on the left top section of the windshield.

Fort Lauderdale police

Jim Sheppard, the former University of Illinois sports announcer, was injured when his car went off the road just south of Champaign.

Sheppard, was southbound on South First Street at about 12:30 p.m. on Jan 3, when he drove off the east side of the road. The car traveled about 600 feet, hit a concrete foundation and then flipped over at least two times.

According to Champaign County Sheriff's Captain, Tim Voges, Sheppard was suffereing from low blood sugar due to his diabetes. The low blood sugar caused Sheppard to lose control of his car.

Voges said Sheppard sustained minor injuries. His car was totaled in the accident.

State police reported that Laura McCracken, 56, of Westmont, Illinois was killed in an auto accident on Saturday. The heavy snowfall was blamed for the accident.

McCracken was heading south on 1-55 near Lemont Rd., when her vehicle hit the cement median causing it to spin around. A car approaching from behind plowed into the driver side of McCracken's car. She was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

Authorities reported a "constant" number of accidents on Saturday which prompted the state Emergency Snow Plan to go into affect on Saturday afternoon. Under the plan, if you are involved in an accident with no injuries, the drivers involved should go to their local police station to report the accident. This allows dispatched police to be available for more serious accidents, those involving injuries.

When the snow finally stopped on Saturday, O'Hare International Airport reported 10 inches of snow had fallen since it began on Friday. The Chicago Department of Aviation reported that the weather caused cancellation of 75 flights and the average delay was 110 minutes.

The National Weather Service is predicting more snow this week with falling temperatures later in the week.