Chicago Accident Lawyer Blog

The Chicago Wrongful Death Attorneys of Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C. send our condolences to family and loved ones of Jason West, as they mourn the tragic death of a resident of our community.

Authorities say, the accident occurred on March 9, 2014 at approximately 1:25 a.m., as Chris West, 29, of Chicago, was traveling along Interstate 57, near West 99th Street. The victim, who was the sole occupant of a 2000 Ford Explorer, apparently lost control of his vehicle, causing it to crash and then subsequently roll-over.

According to officials, West was ejected from the vehicle. It was reported that other drivers stopped in an attempt to help the victim. West was transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where, tragically he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead shortly after 2 a.m. While the investigation continues into this tragic wreck, officials say that it does not appear that alcohol was a factor in the collision. However, we do hope that the ultimate cause of the accident is discovered.

The Chicago Wrongful Death Attorneys of Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C. take note of the tragic loss of 6-month-old baby boy that lost his life at the hands of a hit-and-run driver. As the members of our community mourn this loss, we remain certain that the same thoughts are shared—how could a motorist be so callous as to cause a collision and then leave the scene of the accident?

As attorneys, we wish we could provide the mother of 6-mos-old Yeshua Shaford, with an answer. To hold your child in your arms as the mother reported, ‘as he took his last breath,’ is simply unimaginable.

With the help of witnesses to the accident, including the boy’s father, authorities were able to identify the hit-and-run-driver. In what we see as a merely a partial redemption in justice, the hit-and-run driver did in fact later turn himself to authorities. It was also discovered that the motorist was operating his vehicle with a suspended license.

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.