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Tag: car crash

A jury awards nearly $5 million to the family of an 84-year-old woman killed in a collision with a Chicago police vehicle.

A jury awarded nearly $5 million to the family of an 84-year-old woman killed in 2019 when a speeding Chicago police cruiser collided with her car while responding to a call in the Austin neighborhood.

According to attorney Andrew M. Stroth, jurors took about four hours on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning before awarding a $4.93 million judgment against the city on behalf of retired teacher Verona Gunn.

“Nothing will bring Verona Gunn back, but to me the verdict shows the jury followed their oath and held the city of Chicago accountable for this tragic crash,” Stroth said.

A city Law Department spokeswoman declined to comment. The city attorneys had admitted liability for the crash, leaving the amount of damages for Gunn’s family to be determined by the jury.

Video of the high-speed, multi-vehicle collision that killed Verona Gunn was used as key evidence in a two-day civil trial at the Daley Center, which also included testimony from Gunn’s daughter and granddaughter.

Gunn was sitting in the backseat of her daughter’s Nissan, next to her 9-year-old granddaughter, when the car came to a halt at the intersection of West Division Street and North Laramie as police vehicles raced by on their way to a call of an officer in need of assistance.

CPD Officer Patrick Brown was driving a police van west on Division when it ran a red light and collided with a CPD SUV heading north on Laramie. The impact slammed the SUV into the front of the Gunns’ vehicle. According to police, ten CPD officers were injured during the chase.

Officer Brown was fired by CPD Supt. David Brown last year, and he has been suspended without pay while his case is before the Police Board.

Gunn, a 20-year elementary school teacher, suffered traumatic injuries in the crash, but she clung to life for several hours at the hospital, according to Stroth. Stroth stated that her daughter and granddaughter, who lived with Gunn, gave emotional testimony about the terror of the crash and the pain of losing Gunn.

“This case is about the sanctity of every life, and we fought to convey to the jury that every life matters, regardless of age. We are pleased that the jurors felt a person’s worth was not devalued as they age or because of any mental health or medical condition. … Verona Gunn’s life mattered,” attorney Antonio Romanucci said in a statement.

Although jurors did not hear them, police dispatch recordings revealed that Brown and other officers were repeatedly told to slow down. Dwight Gunn, Gunn’s son, said in a statement that the city treated the lawsuit with “disrespect.”

“Today we have come to the end of this portion of our fight for accountability and justice,” Dwight Gunn said. “While the City has taken some responsibility, we hope for the next step of policy change and reform that improve policing in our community.”

(Sun-Times Media Wire – Copyright 2023 Chicago Sun-Times.)

The family of a Chicago woman killed in a police chase has demanded answers and action from the city.

Verona Gunn, 84, was murdered in May 2019. Surveillance video showed a police cruiser and an unmarked police car colliding on the West Side and then colliding with the vehicle in which Gunn was riding.

Family members said they filed a lawsuit against the city and the officers involved, but have received no response.

ABC7 has reached out to the city for a response to Monday’s news conference but has yet to receive a response.

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A man was struck and killed at a Northwest Side intersection.

A man was struck and killed in a Northwest Side intersection early Wednesday morning.

Police were called to the intersection of Armitage and Cicero around 5 a.m. on a report of a pedestrian struck.

According to police, a 56-year-old man was driving southbound on Cicero when he collided with a 46-year-old man in the intersection.

The man was taken to Stroger Hospital and pronounced dead there. The driver received traffic tickets.

There was no other information provided.

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2 killed when van flips over Stevenson Expressway embankment

Two men were killed and another was critically injured in a Monday evening crash on the Stevenson Expressway, Chicago fire officials said.

According to fire officials, the crash occurred on Interstate 55 inbound near Cicero Avenue on the city’s Southwest Side. A van previously on I-55 flipped over an embankment, ejecting three people.

Two men, 26 and 30 years old, were found dead on the scene, fire officials said. In critical condition, a 42-year-old man was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital.

One of the victims was identified to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office as Victor Gordian, 26, of Chicago.

Authorities did not immediately provide further information about the crash.

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According to Chicago police, a man was struck and killed by a vehicle while crossing the street in Greektown.

A man was killed in a hit-and-run crash on Chicago’s West Side on Saturday morning, according to police.

The collision occurred at the intersection of West Washington Boulevard and North Green Street in the Greektown neighborhood around 1:06 a.m., according to police.

A witness reported seeing a black Mercedes run a stop sign and collide with a 25-year-old man crossing the street. The Mercedes drove east on Washington Boulevard.

According to police, the victim suffered blunt force trauma to the entire body and was taken in critical condition to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police are looking for a four-door Mercedes-Benz sedan from 2006 to 2010, which may be missing the passenger sideview mirror and may have some front-end damage.

Major Accidents was on the scene looking into the incident. There is no one detained.

Police did not immediately release any additional information about the crash.

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Three juveniles are facing charges after crashing a stolen vehicle on Chicago’s South Side.

On the city’s South Side, three male juveniles were injured in a crash involving a stolen vehicle.

The incident occurred around 9:18 p.m. Thursday in the Chatham neighborhood’s 8300 block of South State Street.

Officers arrived to find two vehicles involved in the crash. According to police, a red sedan traveling northbound on 83rd Street collided with a vehicle traveling eastbound on the same street.

According to police, the striking vehicle was later identified as stolen. The three male juveniles inside the vehicle were apprehended and taken to Comer Children’s Hospital and St. Bernard Hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries.

The other vehicle’s driver was not hurt.

Charges are pending.

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Chicago police: 78-year-old woman killed in NW Side crash identified; 6 others, including children, injured

A 78-year-old woman died Tuesday night in a crash on Chicago’s Northwest Side that injured six others, including children.

The accident happened around 7:52 p.m. in the 3400 block of West Peterson Avenue.

According to police, a 46-year-old man was driving east on Peterson Avenue with five passengers when his vehicle was struck in the intersection by an 18-year-old in a sedan.

The 78-year-old passenger was taken to St. Francis Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. She has been identified as Zainab Suboh.

Both drivers were taken to the hospital in fair condition, but a 36-year-old woman and an 81-year-old man were taken to the hospital in critical condition.

Two children, a three-year-old boy and a seven-year-old girl, were transported in fair condition to Lurie Children’s Hospital.

The investigation into the crash is still ongoing, according to police.

According to a relative of some of the victims, the family was traveling from Indiana to visit other family members for dinner.

The crash is being investigated by the Chicago Police Major Accidents Unit.

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The mayor of Calumet City was injured in a four-car accident.

Calumet City Mayor Thaddeus Jones was injured in a four-vehicle crash in the south suburbs on Wednesday night.

Two cars collided around 8 p.m. in the 300 block of River Oaks Drive causing a chain-reaction crash involving Jones, officials said.

Jones was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of his injuries. A 60-year-old man and a 57-year-old woman were also treated at a nearby hospital.

Two other men, 47 and 62, were treated at the scene by Calumet City Fire Department members.

According to reports, all of the injuries were minor.

As officials investigate the crash, no charges have been filed.

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During an argument with a passenger, an Illinois man intentionally drove his car into a tree, according to the sheriff’s office.

A Gurnee man has been charged with intentional driving into a tree while arguing with his passenger on Wednesday morning.

Lake County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the area of 29th Street and Lone Oak Road in Beach Park for a traffic crash around 7:45 a.m.

Deputies arrived to find a Nissan Murano that had collided with a tree. According to the sheriff’s office, the Nissan sustained significant damage.

The Nissan’s driver, a 68-year-old Gurnee man, and his passenger, a 38-year-old Zion woman, were trapped and had to be extricated from the vehicle by the fire department.

According to the sheriff’s office, the driver and passenger were taken to area hospitals with serious but non-life threatening injuries.

The driver and the victim, who are in a relationship, were arguing, according to preliminary information. During the argument, the driver threatened to end their lives, accelerated, and veered off the road.

He drove directly into a tree, the sheriff’s office said.

The driver faces charges of aggravated domestic battery and reckless driving. Additional fees may apply.

The driver’s name will not be released until after his hospital discharge.

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Police arrested a driver in northwest Indiana after he crashed a truck carrying 40K pounds of US mail.

A driver was arrested in northwest Indiana on Monday morning after allegedly crashing a truck carrying 40,000 pounds of US mail while under the influence of a controlled substance.

Indiana State Police received a call about 12:15 a.m. about a semi-crash on I-65 in the southbound lanes, just one mile south of the Crown Point exit.

According to preliminary information, a 2023 Volvo truck drove off the road and overturned, causing the trailer to break open and the contents to spill out, according to Indiana State Police.

The trailer contained 40,000 pounds of US mail.

A blood warrant was obtained from the Lake County Prosecutor’s Office, and the driver’s blood was drawn at a local hospital.

Srdan Bezharevic was identified as the driver. He was cleared medically and transported to the Lake County Jail. Bezharevic was also found in possession of a white, powdery substance, according to ISP.

Bezharevic has been charged with having a controlled substance in his possession and driving while intoxicated.

According to ISP, the contents of the trailer that had fallen out were loaded into another trailer.

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A man from Aurora has been charged in connection with a fatal hit-and-run on the Dan Ryan Expressway.

In 2021, an Aurora man was charged in a fatal hit-and-run on the Dan Ryan Expressway.

According to Illinois State Police, Giovanni Adams, 32, was charged with two counts of leaving the scene of a fatal crash.

On July 4, 2021, one person was killed and another was injured on I-94 near 95th Street shortly after 4 a.m.

According to police, a 2014 white Jeep Cherokee was driving southbound on the Dan Ryan when it rear-ended another vehicle, causing it to roll several times.

The Jeep’s driver fled the scene.

A passenger in the hit car was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver was injured and was taken to a nearby hospital.

Adams was identified as the driver of the Jeep by ISP investigators. On Tuesday, he was arrested.

Adams appeared in court on Wednesday and was granted a $350,000 bond with a 10% surety.

There is no additional information available at this time.

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The River North hit-and-run victim was 7 months pregnant, and the baby is now fighting for life.

A Joliet family is pleading for justice and answers after four members were hit and critically injured in a hit-and-run in River North over the weekend.

Silvia Gil, her fiance Jorge, her brother Angel, and his girlfriend Zayra were walking to dinner Saturday night when a dark-colored Chevy sedan collided with a silver Toyota Prius, according to Chicago police. The Chevy then slammed into the two couples, seriously injuring all four.

“My brother was, he got dragged a little bit with the car, and then my sister and her fiancé got thrown as well,” said Crystal Gil, the victims’ sister.

Silvia was seven months pregnant and in critical condition.

“How could you leave a pregnant woman on the floor? You know, I understand you’re scared because of what happened, but a pregnant woman. She’s obviously pregnant,” Crystal said.

She had an emergency C-section, and her baby boy, who was born weeks early, is now fighting for his life.

“All we could do is just pray for him,” his aunt said. “It’s a tragic way to come into this world. Nobody wants to come into this world in a horrible situation like that.”

A man and a woman in the Prius were also injured and taken to hospitals.

According to Chicago police, three people in the sedan fled the scene.

“Have a heart. Just turn yourself in, at least for the sake of the baby,” Crystal Gil said.

The victims’ injuries range from broken bones to serious head and internal injuries, but Silvia, in particular, faces a long recovery. Her sister stated that she might require spinal surgery.

There is currently no one in custody. Chicago police are conducting an investigation.

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One person was killed in a crash on the Bishop Ford Freeway near Pullman, and southbound lanes are closed, according to Illinois State Police.

According to Illinois State Police, one person was killed in a crash on the Bishop Ford Freeway on Sunday morning.

According to police, the crash occurred at 5:04 a.m. on Interstate 94 southbound near 111th Street. Troopers responded to a report of a pedestrian-vehicle collision. One person was declared dead.

According to police, another crash occurred while a trooper was directing traffic. A vehicle collided with their squad car, but the trooper was unharmed.

The investigation has closed I-94 southbound near 111th Street. Traffic will be diverted to 103rd Street.

Police did not immediately release any additional information about the crash.

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An Orland Park man was sentenced in a 2017 Beecher crash that killed a pregnant woman and three children.

A young pregnant mother and her three young children were killed in a terrible car accident in Beecher, Illinois.

Sean Woulfe, 30, of Orland Park, pleaded guilty to five counts of reckless homicide last year after the judge in his trial declared a mistrial.

He was sentenced to two years in prison for each death on Wednesday, to be served concurrently.

Lindsey Schmidt, 29, was killed in an August 2017 crash on a quiet road in Beecher, along with her unborn child and her three sons, ages 1, 4, and 7.

Woulfe was allegedly going more than 80 mph when his pickup ran a stop sign and collided with the family’s Subaru Outback on their way to vacation bible school.

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‘Miracle’ four-person survivor count after Tesla plunges off California cliff near Devil’s Slide.

Officials say a 4-year-old girl, a 9-year-old boy, and two adults survived after their car plunged off a cliff along the Pacific Coast Highway in Northern California near an area known for fatal accidents known as Devil’s Slide.

The Tesla sedan crashed into a rocky outcropping after plummeting over 250 feet from the highway. According to Coastside Fire Protection District/Cal Fire battalion chief Brian Pottenger, the vehicle appears to have flipped several times before landing on its wheels, wedged against a cliff just feet from the ocean.

Devil’s Slide is a steep, rocky, and winding stretch of coastline about 15 miles south of San Francisco, between Pacifica and Montara. Very few people survive crashes in this area. On Monday, the victims were initially listed as being in critical condition, but when rescuers arrived, they were all conscious and alert.

“We frequently go there to throw cars off the cliff, but they never survive. This was a miraculous occurrence “Pottenger said.

Officer Mark Andrews stated that the California Highway Patrol does not believe that the Tesla was in Autopilot or Full Self-Driving mode at the time of the collision.

The condition of the road was also not believed to have contributed to the accident. At the location where the sedan fell off the cliff, there was no guardrail present.

“The vehicle left the main portion of the road. We do not know the reason why “Andrews said.

Witnesses dialed 911 at 10:15 a.m., and crews installed a rope system from the highway to lower firefighters down the cliff, according to the battalion chief. Simultaneously, other firefighters observing the sedan with binoculars observed movement, indicating that at least one person was still alive.

“Every one of us was shocked when we saw movement out of the front windshield,” Pottenger stated.

The incident, which had been expected to involve the recovery of bodies, morphed into a rescue operation that lasted several hours despite the constant rain, strong winds, slick roads, and crashing waves. The doors were smashed against the cliff and jammed shut, so firefighters were forced to use the so-called “jaws of life” to free the victims.

Crews extracted the children from the rear window and used the rope system to haul them up the cliff by hand in a rescue basket. They were rushed by ambulance to the hospital with musculoskeletal injuries.

“They were more scared than they were hurt,” Pottenger stated.

The adults, however, sustained severe injuries and had to be airlifted up the cliff by helicopter. According to the battalion chief, both were then transported by helicopter to a hospital. It was not immediately apparent whether the four occupants were family members.

Officials are investigating the circumstances surrounding the Tesla’s off-road excursion.

“I don’t even like driving it,” Pottenger said. It is without a doubt a dangerous stretch of California.

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A child was ejected from a vehicle and killed in a rollover crash on I-55, according to Illinois State Police.

According to Illinois State Police, a child was killed in an early Sunday morning crash on Interstate 55 in Cook County.

According to ISP, the crash occurred around 3:15 a.m. in the northbound lanes of the Stevenson Expressway near Harlem Avenue in Chicago’s Garfield Ridge neighborhood. A 12-year-old was a passenger in a vehicle when it lost control and rolled over for unknown reasons.

According to ISP, the child who was ejected from the vehicle was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead.

According to ISP, all northbound lanes were closed for the crash investigation, and traffic was rerouted at Harlem Avenue. Police did not immediately release any additional information about the crash.

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One person was killed and several others were injured in a 50-car crash on the Ohio Turnpike.

At least one person has been killed in a series of winter weather-related crashes on the Ohio Turnpike.

According to WTVG, the fatality occurred in Sandusky County, which is located between Toledo and Cleveland.

Multiple injuries have also been reported, and authorities believe heavy winds and snow are to blame.

The collisions involved approximately 50 vehicles.

Officials are using buses to transport stranded travelers to warm-weather shelters.

For nearly 20 miles, the turnpike, also known as Interstate 80, is closed in both directions.

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Elgin fire officials report that eight vehicles collided in slick conditions, resulting in one serious injury.

Thursday night in Elgin, eight vehicles collided due to slick roads, resulting in one serious injury, according to fire department officials.

At approximately 6:30 p.m., four cars collided near the intersection of Route 20 and McLean Boulevard. While Elgin fire crews were on the scene, however, four additional vehicles crashed.

Thirteen people were involved in total.

One individual was transported to a local hospital in critical condition but is expected to survive, according to fire officials.

According to the fire department, extremely slippery conditions on a nearby bridge were to blame.

Thursday night, a rain-snow mix fell across the Chicago region as temperatures hovered around freezing.

Tracy Butler, a meteorologist with ABC7 Chicago, said that more black ice is possible on Friday morning.

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Crete woman charged in fatal DUI crash

A woman was charged with aggravated DUI after colliding with another car on Interstate 394 in Crete last month.

According to Illinois State Police, a red Ford traveling southbound on I-394 near Steger Road on November 14 struck a deer and drove into the ditch before coming to rest in lane 2.

According to police, Letisha Tovar, 58, was driving her Jeep when she collided with the Ford’s passenger side.

The Ford’s passenger was pronounced dead at the scene, and the Ford’s driver was transported to a local hospital, according to police.

Tovar was also transported to a nearby hospital, where she refused medical care. The injured passenger in her Jeep was hospitalized, according to police.

After an investigation by the Illinois Division of Criminal Investigation, Tovar was arrested on Monday and charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated causing great bodily harm.

Tovar was released on personal recognizance from the Cook County Jail.

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10 people were injured in an I-88 crash involving a school bus, according to Illinois State Police.

According to Illinois State Police, ten people were taken to hospitals after a multi-vehicle crash involving a school bus in DuPage County on Monday morning.

Just after 8:15 a.m., state troopers responded to westbound Interstate 88 near York Road and Oak Brook for a reported crash involving at least two vehicles and an occupied school bus.

According to police, ten people were taken to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries. According to the FBI, one child and two adults from the bus were taken to hospitals.

According to Oak Brook fire officials, the crash scene was approximately 200 yards long.

Around 8:20 a.m., the left lane of westbound I-88 near York Road was closed for an investigation, with traffic moving in the right lanes.

The cause of the crash was not immediately disclosed by police.

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‘The love of my life’: Husband awakens from an accident believing it is 1993 and proposes to wife again.

After nearly surviving a motorbike accident, a man awoke thinking it was 1993.

The love of his life assisted him in his recovery, which only strengthened their bond.

Kristy and Andrew Mackenzie are in the midst of a love tale. They have been married for 37 years and enjoy spending time with their family and traveling on the open road.

“On that motorcycle, it just it feels so free,” Kristy remarked. “And I’m, of course, holding on to the love of my life.”

All of those memories came to a standstill for Andrew, 58, after a near-fatal motorcycle accident last June. Kristy and Andrew were thrown 50 feet across the pavement after t-boning a car that ran a red light, according to witnesses.

“All I truly wanted to know was, was he okay and where my husband was,” Kristy explained.

Andrew was rushed to the hospital unconscious for emergency surgery. Their injuries were severe, with shattered bones, internal bleeding, punctured lungs, and concussions among them.

The nightmare had not ended when Andrew awoke three days later. Nineteen years of his life had vanished into thin air.

Kristy explained, “He thought it was 1993,”

He didn’t even identify Lorelai Mentzer and Amanda MacKenzie, his own daughters.

“‘Where’s my wife?’ he said immediately. ‘Where has my wife gone?’ And I believe he mistook me for a hospital employee “Lorelai explained.

“We could tell him over and over a few things, and then an hour later, it was like repeating everything,” Amanda explained.

Doctors couldn’t tell Andrew’s family if his memory would return.

“One of my first things I remember is Kristy in a wheelchair bedside trying to worry about me taking care of myself,” Andrew added.

Kristy got the staff to put them in the same room, and everything improved within 24 hours.

“He started coming around asking me things and I was, like, amazed,” Kristy recalled. “There was happy tears, and within 24 hours, he was a new person.”

After 11 days in the hospital and lengthy rehab, the couple was able to walk again and went on a family beach trip in August.

Andrew proposed a second time, and the couple reaffirmed their vows a few days later.

“Fortunately, she said yes. We’d already been married for 37 years or so, so it worked well “Andrew stated.

Andrew, who has no recollection of the catastrophe, believes it was his wife who saved him.

“We’re trying to take all the positive things from this, maybe even joking a little bit now,” Andrew explained.

“It had been a nightmare. But I want to live a grateful life. All that matters is that we have each other “Kristy stated.

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