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In what can be called an unthinkable series of events, a family mourns the loss of another child, following a second fatal accident, which took the life of a remaining twin. Although the accidents occurred nearly 18 years apart, the irony of these tragedies is that occurred within 500 yards from one another, near Crete, Illinois.

The first accident, which happened on May 26, 1996, involved a hit-and-run accident that took the lives of three children-11-year-old Cari Sanaghan, 12-year-old Courtney Lauer, and 12-year-old Sheena Acres-and severely injured a 13-year-old boy, and Cari’s twin sister, Sarah Sanaghan. The driver, Richard Devon, who struck the children as they were walking across Plum Creek Bridge on Burville Road, was later convicted for leaving the scene of the accident.

The second accident occurred on February 27, 2014, as 29-year-old Sarah Sanaghan traveled west along Burville Road, near Crete. According to officials, Sanaghan’s Chevy Cruz collided with a tanker truck that was headed south on Illinois 394. Although the truck driver was not seriously injured as a result of the collision, Sanaghan sustained blunt force head trauma, which the coroner’s office reported was the cause of her demise.

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The Chicago Sun-Times reports an Illinois truck driver named Renato V. Velasquez has been criminally charged with operating a commercial motor vehicle while impaired or fatigued, making a false report of record and duty status, and driving beyond the 14 and 11 hour rules, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and failure to yield to a stationary emergency vehicle.

Illinois State police Police allege Mr. Velasquez, the trucker, had been on the road driving for more that 36 hours when his truck crashed into emergency vehicles that had been stopped on the right hand lane and shoulder on I-88 near Aurora. The vehicles had been were helping with a broken down semi. Vincent Petrella, an Illinois Tollway worker who was on the scene helping out was killed and Illinois state trooper, Douglas J. Bader was critically injured. The 36 hours that Mr. Velasquez was driving far exceeded the federal time limits a truck driver is allowed to spend behind the wheel at one time. Truck driver’s shifts are limited to 14 hours with only 11 hours actually on the road under federal rules.

According to a Chicago Tribune story entitled “Did trucking rules fail?” that appeared on January 30, 2014, the United States government has tried for years to require that drivers use electronic logbooks which are harder to falsify than paper logbooks. Velazquez is accused of falsifying his paper log book.

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The Chicago personal injury law firm of Zneimer & Zneimer P.C. takes note of a crash test study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety which found that many of the subcompact cars sold in the United States failed the crash test.

The IIHS tested 11 subcompact cars and mini cars in crash tests and only one car rated even reasonably well, the Chevrolet Spark. None of the 12 subcompacts got the highest rating of “good” from the IIHS. The Chevrolet Spark got an “acceptable” rating. The cars earning the lowest “poor” rating were the Nissan Versa, Toyota Prius, Hundai Accent, The Misubishi Mirage, Fiat 500 The Honda Fit, the Mazda 2, the Kia Rio the Toyota Yaris and the Ford, Fiesta.

The overlap crash involves a car hitting a barrier at 40 mph on just the side of the bumper. Many cars that do well on crash tests directly to the front of the bumper do poorly when the impact is to the side of a bumper or to the front corner of the car. Statistics show that a quarter of the crashes causing serious injuries or death are these type of front crashes.

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The Chicago injury law firm of Zneimer & Zneimer P.C. notes a study appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine which notes that novice drivers are more likely to engage in risky driving behaviors over time as they become more accustomed to driving. The study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute compared the driving habits of experienced drivers vs. novice drivers. The drivers were videoed and drove cars equipped with data collecting computers.

The data from the study showed that during the first six months driving novice drivers engaged in tasks like texting, dialing, reaching for a phone, reaching for other things, eating and adjusting controls less than the experienced drivers. During the period between 7 months and 15 months, the novice drivers matched the experienced drivers in the amount of distracted behaviors. Then, during the period of 16 months and 18 months after starting to drive the distracted driving behaviors shot up two-fold.

The study had significant findings that have important implications as far as Illinois driving laws. The study found that tasks involving hand -held cell phones increases the risk of crashing by three times. Equally important, use of hands-free cellphones is not that much safer than hand held phones. It is interesting to note that Illinois banned the use of hand-held cell phones while driving beginning in January of 2014 but still allows the us of hands free cell phones while driving.

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The Chicago auto injury lawyers of Zneimer and Zneimer note that new laws changing the way people drive on Illinois roads went into affect at the beginning of 2014. Starting January 1, 2014, a new Illinois law makes it illegal to use a handheld cellphone while operating a motor vehicle. Residents of Chicago already had an ordinance which forbid handheld cellphones while driving but now the practice is forbidden statewide. However, a driver may still legally use a hands free headset, speaker phone or other hands free device when using a cell phone while driving.

Another new law passed by the Illinois General Assembly would raise the speed limit on interstate expressways to 70 mph outside of metropolitan areas. In metropolitan areas around Chicago, St. Louis and Springfield the speed limit will remain 55 mph.

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The Chicago Dog Bite Attorneys of Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C. take note of the alarming increase in recent years of payout amounts for claims brought forth under homeowners and renter’s insurance policies for dog bites and dog attacks. According to the National Insurance Institute, the amount paid by insurers for dog bite injury claims have increased from $324.2 Million in 2003, to $489.7 Million in 2012. This represents a nationwide increase of over 50% in the past decade.

When reporting data is delineated by location and insurance provider, the increase in dog bite claims in Illinois is profound when compared with other states. For example, a recent report by State Farm showed that Illinois ranked second in claims paid by that insurer in both 2011 and 2012. Although California ranked first, when adjustments for population are made, Illinois dog bite claim payout totals were still nearly 40% higher. Last year alone, Illinois dog bite claims accounted for 10% of all claims paid by State Farm for dog attack incidents.

In addition, Illinois also ranked amongst the highest in dog bite attacks on postal workers in 2012. According to a 2013 Postal Service study, which compiled a list of the top 10 U.S. cities for dog bite attacks on postal workers, Chicago Illinois was ranked as third, with a total of 41 dog bite incidents occurring in 2012. When compared to the total amount of 2012 dog attacks on postal workers, 5,900, and the fact that there are over 100,000 U.S. cities, this figure is significant considering that many cities with higher or comparable populations did not make the list. Further, Chicago’s 2012 ranking drastically increased from its ranking of 13th in 2011.

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Our train injury lawyers have learned that the railroad experts investigating the CTA Blue Line crash on September 30, 2013, considered emergency recommendations to the Chicago Transit Authority. According to Jon Hilkevitch of Chicago Tribune, the recommendations “could signal concerns of a future accident.”

The accident happened when an empty out-of-service CTA train hit a stopped Blue Line CTA train carrying passengers, injuring many of the passengers.

According to the NTSB’s letter to Forrest Claypool of the CTA,” the unoccupied train had been stored at Forest Park Repair Terminal awaiting repairs when it began moving under power and departed the terminal entering main line track. The train traveled almost one mile downhill through five mechanical train stop mechanisms before reaching the Harlem Station. The emergency brakes were applied and the train was momentarily stopped several times by the mechanical train stop mechanisms as it proceeded to the Harlem Station. Following each stop, train movement resumed because the master lever on the operator console had been left in a setting that allowed the train car brakes to recover and reset from the emergency brake application and proceed through a mechanical train stop mechanism after a momentary stop.”

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A mother whose child suffered personal injuries as a result of school bulling could not maintain a lawsuit against the School District, its superintendent, or the school principal according to the Fourth District of the Appellate Court of Illinois.

Beginning in August 2011, Vilma Hascall complained to the principal of her child’s elementary school about a “bulling situation” involving her child and three classmates. Although the principal promised to “address” the situation, it appears that the principal did not do much because the bullying continued. The mother requested a meeting with the school district superintendent, the principal, the child’s classroom teacher, the police, and the parents of the children that had bullied her child. She only met with the superintendent and the principal who assured her that they will contact the parents.

The bullying continued, however, and the child was cornered into a school bathroom and threatened and harassed. Ms. Hascall complained to the police and the principal called her promising to “take appropriate disciplinary actions.”

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As 72-year-old Stanley Lorkiewicz rode his bicycle in the 7700 block of North Milwaukee Avenue in Niles on the morning of September 23, 2013 he was struck by a vehicle. The driver of the motor vehicle remained on the scene until authorities arrived. As the police report was being prepared, Lorkiewicz suddenly collapsed, but was subsequently revived and transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. The autopsy results, which are expected to be released by October 1, 2013, should reveal whether the bicycle accident was the cause of Lorkiewicz’s death.

According to police, the incident was initially deemed to be only a ‘minor accident.’ The tragic death of Stanley Lorkiewicz serves as a reminder of the need to seek immediate medical treatment following a bicycling accident, even when the bicyclist, the motorist, and the police are in agreement that the incident was only minor. The Chicago Bicycle Accident Attorneys of Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C. offer their condolences to the victim’s grieving family during this difficult time.

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As friends and family mourn the death of 26-year-old Robert “Bobby” Cann, they are joined by bicycling enthusiasts throughout Chicago who are also grieving this tragic loss. Known for his passion for cycling, multi-state treks, and participation in Chicago’s monthly Mass ride, the anguish felt by community residents was clearly evident at the Memorial held in his honor following his death. The bicycle accident attorneys of Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C. join with residents and community activist groups alike in their efforts to push for more safety awareness and avoid preventable tragedies like this one.

The accident occurred on May 29, 2013 while Cann rode his bicycle home from work along Clybourn Avenue, near Larabee Street. As Cann traveled southeast, he was struck from behind by a Mercedes that, just prior, had collided with another vehicle. Although Cann was wearing a helmet at the time of the bicycling accident, the violent impact caused his body to be thrown from his bike, resulting in a severe laceration to his leg. He was rushed by ambulance to a nearby Chicago hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time thereafter.

According to police, the driver of the Mercedes, 28-year-old Ryne San Hamel, had a blood-alcohol content level of .127. Hamel was subsequently charged with reckless homicide, aggravated DUI, misdemeanor DUI, reckless driving, and failure to stay in the lane. In addition to Hamel’s $100,000 bond, his passport was also revoked. Undoubtedly there will be continued controversy over this incident, given Hamel’s blood-alcohol content being less than the legal limit of .08, yet Hamel having clearly been the cause of this tragic bicycle accident.

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