Drunken driving is a common problem on Illinois’ highways. No one who has been drinking should ever get behind the wheel, otherwise they risk causing an alcohol-related accident that endangers the lives of other motorists as well as their own.
Unfortunately, intoxication was the apparent cause of a recent accident on Interstate 355 near the town of Lockport, 25 miles southwest of Chicago.
According to an Illinois State Police trooper, an alleged drunk driver was driving a vehicle south in the northbound lane of the interstate when the vehicle collided head-on with another car.
The driver of the second vehicle suffered a broken leg. An unspecified number of child passengers in the second vehicle suffered minor injuries. The wrong-way driver, whose identity, age and gender were not provided by state troopers, was arrested for drunken driving.
The accident victims may have been fortunate to escape with relatively minor injuries. In many alcohol-related accidents, victims are killed or often sustain severe head trauma, neck and spinal cord injuries and other serious injuries.
Accident injuries have more than physical effects, however. Victims usually must deal with expensive medical and rehabilitation treatments as well as lose wages if employed. When this happens, a victim’s family can be compromised if the victim was the primary source of income. To hold a drunken driver accountable and to have an injured victim’s needs met, a personal injury lawsuit can be filed against the driver. Any evidence developed and used to prosecute criminal charges against the driver can be introduced into a civil case.
A monetary award can help cover a victim’s accident-related expenses. If the accident resulted in someone’s death, then surviving family members can file a wrongful death lawsuit to hold a driver legally responsible. An Illinois legal advocate can help in either case.
Source: CBS Chicago, “Wrong-Way Driver Injures Multiple People On I-355,” April 8, 2014
