Fatal I-55 Truck Accidents In Will County

There were two Will County fatal truck accidents on I-55 yesterday (July 21, 2014), with one accident resulting in four deaths and the second resulting in one death.

According to the Illinois State Police (ISP) in the first truck accident, that happened at roughly 2:30 p.m., the driver of a semi ran into (rear-ended) a car that was stopped, which in turn ran into two other stopped vehicles in this “chain-reaction” crash. This crash happened south of Arsenal Road near Elwood.

The four people who died as a result of this collision were identified as:

Ulrike P. Blpeh, 48, of Channahon
Vicky L. Palacios, 54, of Coal City
Kimberly K. Britton, 43, of Urbana
Piper Britton, 11, of Urbana.

In addition to the four people killed in this accident, four additional people were injured and hospitalized.

An excerpt from the Chicago Tribune article of July 22, 2014, titled “Girl, 11, among 5 dead in I-55 wrecks“:

The 51-year-old driver of the semi truck is in custody and scheduled to appear in bond court today on felony log book violation charges, according to Illinois State Police.
Francisco Espinal-Quiroz, of Leesburg, Ind, is charged with keeping a false log book and willfully entering false information, Sgt. Chris Wilkes of ISP said.

According to the ISP, the second I-55 fatal truck accident happened about three miles north of the first accident described above, shortly after the first crash. In this accident, which happened in the southbound lanes of I-55 at U.S. Route 6, one semi “rear-ended” another semi. Both truck drivers were taken to hospitals, and one truck driver died. He was identified as Deividas Mockus, 41, of Darien.

Additional details and possible updates concerning these two fatal Illinois truck accidents can be seen in a variety of media sources, including the Chicago Tribune mentioned above, as well as the July 21 Channahon-Minooka Patch article titled “4 Killed in High-Speed I-55 Crash Monday Afternoon.”

Illinois Seat Belt Law

For those looking for information concerning Illinois safety belt laws – including the rules regarding child passenger safety – there is an Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) Division of Traffic Safety website at buckleupillinois.org with a page titled “Illinois Safety Belt Laws.”

On this page there is also links to the full copy of the Illinois Safety Belt Law as well as a full copy of the Child Passenger Protection Act.

Additional information – including information concerning the Illinois Graduated Driver Licensing Law – can be found on the website mentioned above.

Boy Fatally Struck By Vehicle On I-55 Near Shorewood, Illinois

There was a fatal pedestrian accident on Interstate 55 (I-55) early this morning (July 13, 2014) near Shorewood involving a 16-year-old boy being struck while walking on the expressway.

According to the Illinois State Police (ISP) the accident happened at approximately 1:49 a.m. near Black Road at mile marker 253.

It is unknown why the boy was walking northbound on the expressway.

According to the Will County Coroner’s Office, the boy was pronounced dead at the accident scene at 3:05 a.m.

The boy’s identity has not yet been released, but he is said to be from Plainfield.

This fatal Will County accident is under investigation.

Additional details and possible updates can be seen in a variety of media sources, including the July 13, 2014 Chicago Tribune article titled “Boy, 16, walking on I-55 near Shorewood fatally struck” as well as the July 13 Chicago Sun-Times Voices article titled “16-year-old boy fatally struck by vehicle on I-55.”

Fatal Car Accident In Crest Hill, Illinois

There was a Will County fatal car accident Friday afternoon (July 11, 2014) in Crest Hill, Illinois.

This one-car crash involved a car that collided with a traffic signal post near Route 30 and Larkin Avenue.

According to the Will County Coroner’s Office, the driver of the car, identified as John K. Vidican Sr., 76, of Lockport, was pronounced dead at 10:08 p.m. Friday after being taken to Presence Saint Joseph Medical Center.

This fatal accident is under investigation by the Crest Hill Police Department.

Additional information and possible updates concerning this Will County car accident can be seen in a variety of media sources, including the Joliet Patch article of July 12, 2014, titled “Man Dies After Crash in Crest Hill: Coroner” as well as this wjol.com page.

Lawsuit Claims Injury Stemming From Car Crashing Into Joliet Furniture Store

There has been a lawsuit filed in Will County, Illinois Circuit Court regarding injuries sustained in a June 2013 vehicle accident.

An excerpt from the July 3, 2014 Patch.com article titled “Worker Injured When Driver Crashes Into Furniture Store: Lawsuit” :

A furniture store worker was injured when he leaped out of the way of a car that crashed into the Joliet business, according to a lawsuit filed in Will County court.

The lawsuit names two defendants, including the vehicle’s driver and owner.

Additional details and possible updates can be seen in a variety of media sources, including the Joliet Patch article mentioned above.

Pavement Marker Road Hazards

Various hazards can present themselves during the course of driving. Many of these road hazards seen in Illinois and elsewhere are particularly dangerous as they can be largely unexpected.

A new traffic hazard is presenting itself in the form of dislodged road pavement markers. These are the reflective markers embedded in various roads and highways, both in Illinois and throughout the nation. Although one only sees the reflective marker portion on the top of the road, the entire pavement marker is largely composed of steel.

On July 1, 2014, NBCChicago.com published an investigative report (with video) titled “Loose Highway Markers Create Road Hazards.” This article discusses the road hazards presented when these road pavement markers became dislodged from the roadway – mainly due to deteriorating roads – and then sit on the roadway, where they can become active hazards if they are “kicked up” by trucks and other vehicles. If this happens, they can hit oncoming vehicles. The NBC report discusses a motorist whose windshield was hit, shattered, and penetrated by an “airborne” pavement marker as he was traveling on U.S Route 41 near Illinois Route 137.

This report may be of particular interest to those residents of Will County, as the city of Plainfield and its deliberations on this road pavement marker matter is discussed within the report.

A couple of excerpts from the NBC report:

NBC 5 Investigates found that in cities with extreme weather, the reflective markers are often encased in metal. But transportation experts say harsh winters followed by brutal heat can weaken the metal reflectors.
“This thing will kill you,” said Plainfield resident Ed Arter, during a recent meeting with Village leaders.
“If I were in Afghanistan you’d call it a piece of shrapnel. It probably weighs about three pounds. We’re not in Afghanistan though. The place where I found these is right down the middle of our village,” Arter said.
NBC 5 investigates found a number of broken pieces of the metal pavement marker casings along U.S. Route 59 in Plainfield that had obviously come loose from the road.

Additional details concerning this road pavement markers safety issue can be seen in the aforementioned NBCChicago.com article and video.

Wilmington, Illinois Ambulance Crashes And Injures Three

There was a Will County accident involving a Wilmington Fire Department ambulance Tuesday morning, July 1, 2014. Three people were injured as a result of the accident.

According to the Will County Sheriff’s Office, the accident happened at approximately 9:55 a.m. as the ambulance was traveling on Laraway Road, about a quarter-mile west of Loganberry Road. The driver first noticed a vibration, and then the right front tire of the ambulance blew. As a result, the ambulance ran off the road, into a ditch.

Three people suffered minor injuries, including the patient being transported, the ambulance driver and a paramedic. The were all taken to Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox with minor injuries.

Additional details and possible updates concerning this Will County vehicle accident can be seen in a variety of media sources, including the July 1, 2014 theherald-news.com article titled “Ambulance blows tire, crashes on way to Silver Cross Hospital” as well as the July 1 Channahon-Minooka Patch article titled “Wilmington Ambulance Crashes in Joliet Township, Injuring Three.”