Chicago Accident Lawyer Blog
The Attorneys of Zneimer & Zneimer P.C. have repeatedly voiced our concerns over the safety of bicyclists in our communities. Increased ridership over the past few years has brought not only more accidents, but a wider variation in accident types. While often time we discuss bike crash issues in general terms, our concerns are perhaps better expressed by taking a look back at recent bike crashes that have occurred in the Chicago Metropolitan area.
Motorist kills cyclist at Intersection
On August 18, 2014, a 44-year-old Park Forest resident was struck and killed by a southbound motorist while bicycling eastbound at the intersection of 55th Street on Central Avenue in the Garfield Ridge community. Police cited the motorist for failing to reduce speed to avoid an accident.
Bike trail Accident kills bicyclist
On August 9, 2014, a 42-year-old un-helmeted bicyclist sustained fatal head trauma as a result of a bike trail accident. Forest Preseve officials say that the man fell from is bike after swerving to avoid an oncoming bicyclist, as he was attempting to pass a jogger.
Tractor-trailer collides with bicyclist
On August 7, 2014, a 55-year-old man was pronounced dead, three days after being stuck by a semi tractor-trailer in the Archer Heights neighborhood. Officials say the victim was pinned underneath the truck that hit him, as he rode his bicycle in the afternoon hours near Archer and Lawndale Avenues.
Metra train kills bicyclist at crossing
On July 31st, a Metra train on the Union pacific NW, headed from Chicago to Barrington, struck and killed a woman in Des Plaines, as she was riding her bicycle south across the tracks. Officials say they are investigating the incident to confirm whether the safety mechanisms at the crossing were in proper working order at the time of the incident.
The accidents listed above are just a few of the bike accidents reported in the past three weeks alone. Going back even further, the Chicago bicycle accident attorneys of Zneimer & Zneimer P.C. provide more examples of the diversity in both injury and crash type that continue to plague bicyclists:
DUI hit-and-run driver collides with child bicyclist
On June 13, 2014, a 70-year-old woman struck a child on the 7700 block of Wheeler Drive in Orland Park. Officials say the woman did not stop to help the child, and instead choose to drive home. She was later charged with driving under the influence, and hit-and-run related charges for failing to render assistance to the child.
Truck strikes and kills bicyclist
On July 3, 2014, a 28-yearold woman was killed after being struck by a truck near the intersections of Belmont and Cicero Avenues in Portage Park. The victim was transported to the Illinois Mason Hospital with multiple injuries, where she later died.
Bicyclist killed in Crash with motorcyclist
On July 2, 2014, a bicyclist and a motorcyclist collided at the 1600 block of Church Street, between Orrington and Chicago Avenues in Evanston. The victim, a 55-year-old woman, who was a children’s librarian at the Evanston library, was transported to the hospital, where she died from her injuries two days later.
Hit-and-run driver kills bicyclist
On June 2, a 40-year-old man was struck from behind and killed as the victim was bicycling in Forest Park on Harlem Avenue, near 14th Street. Witnesses say, the motorist, who left the scene of the accident appeared to be speeding. The unoccupied vehicle was later found in Berwyn. On June 5th, 21-year-old Joel Mendoza was charged in connection with the incident.
As injury attorneys, these accidents validate our concerns over the safety of our residents. Quite simply, bicycling in most Chicago Metropolitan area is dangerous, and we feel that more needs to be done about it. If you suffered an injury, lost a loved one due to a fatality, or simply have a question about bike safety, we encourage you to contact Zneimer & Zneimer P.C., either online, or by calling 773-516-4100.