There has been several incidents this year where a driver jumped the curb and crashed into a building in downtown Hinsdale. They all occurred on the same block of the village's downtown district, one in March and two other similar accidents occurred in February.
This accident involved a Clarendon Hills woman attempting to park her 2007 Mercedes ML500 along South Washington Street. Apparently, she hit the accelerator instead of the brake, sending her car into a vacant building that formerly housed the restaurant Zak's Place. The woman was not injured, but was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid a collision.
The two other accidents, which as previously mentioned occurred within the same street block, occurred on February 21 and February 23, when the Steinway Piano Gallery was struck twice by vehicles on separate occasions.
In the first accident, which took place on February 21, a man was trying to park his car into one of the angled spaces, but instead drove onto the curb and struck the building. Luckily, the only damage was a few fallen bricks. The second accident, which was on February 23, caused substantially more damage. "We heard a loud crash, and the doors were broken through and there was glass everywhere," said Diane Duncan, sales manager at the store. Apparently the driver came to a stop within just a few feet of some of the store's pianos. This accident was also the result of a driver attempting to park, but accidentally jumping the curb and hitting the accelerator.
Authorities have begun to discuss whether some sort of obstacle, such as a large planter box, might be the solution to these sorts of accidents. It may be the case that these accidents are just a highly unlikely coincidence. While there has been a mention of drivers averaging 65 years of age, there has also been an acknowledgement that it is not necessarily an age correlated with decreased driving abilities. Based on the limited information presented, it remains unclear whether perhaps all the vehicles involved were SUVs, or perhaps the curb in that area is lower or less sloped compared with other curbs, providing two additional potential explanations.
It is very fortunate that no one was hurt in any of these accidents, whether pedestrians or people who may have happened to be inside of the storefronts. Individuals who have been hurt in a single-car crash, which can be the result of a distracted or impaired motorist, may be entitled to receive compensation for any potential injuries that occur. In certain situations, an automobile a manufacturer, a city, and others may be held additionally responsible for the injuries that are a result of a one-vehicle collision.
Personal injury lawyers at our office have worked on similar cases over the years where innocent bystanders were actually injured. In one case, our client was hurt when an elderly motorist lost control of his vehicle and drove through the front of a fast food restaurant in downtown Chicago. In another accident, an elderly woman lost control and crashed into a home in the suburbs, injuring the homeowner inside.
If you were injured through no fault of your own in any traffic accident, you may be entitled to receive compensation for your damages. Potential recoveries include reimbursement for medical bills, any required physical therapy, and damages for pain and suffering, disability, lost wages and benefits, and more. Additionally, since Illinois is a comparative negligence accident state, even if you may have been somehow partially at fault for the harm you received, you may still be able to recover for a percentage of the harm sustained. If you lost a loved one in an unfortunate single car accident like this one, you may also be entitled to recover for wrongful death. If you have questions about your right to recovery after an injury or accident, you should contact a skilled car crash attorney as soon as you are able.
If you were harmed or a family member was killed in a single-vehicle or other automobile collision, please call the experienced traffic accident lawyers at Abels & Annes, P.C. at (312) 924-7575 today. Our experienced Chicago car accident attorneys are available 24 hours per day, seven days per week to answer your questions and help you file your personal injury or wrongful death claim. Our dedicated lawyers have many years of experience advocating on behalf of clients who were hurt in unexpected accidents throughout Chicago. To speak with a committed personal injury attorney today, do not hesitate to contact Abels & Annes, P.C. through our website.
