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Illinois Multi-Vehicle Car Accident Leaves One Person Dead, Two More Injured

Some of the most dangerous types of car accidents are those that involve multi-vehicle pileups. Tragically, that is precisely how one person, a 45-year-old Wisconsin woman, was killed in mid-June, 2016. Two more people suffered injuries.

Illinois Multi-Car Pileup

According to an article in rrstar.com, the crash occurred when three (of the four vehicles involved in the crash) were traveling south on Route 2 in Illinois. The three vehicles stopped at a red light, one in front of the other. The fourth vehicle rear-ended the third vehicle around 2:00 p.m., forcing all vehicles into each other.

While three people were taken to the hospital for injuries, the only death reported at this time is that of the woman mentioned above. Her identity is currently being withheld pending the notification of family members. The injuries of the other two people are not critical.

It is currently unknown how fast the vehicle was traveling that rear-ended the other car, leading to the pile up. Further, toxicology reports are not yet available, but may provide information about any possible impairment that may have contributed to the tragic incident.

The Dangers of Rear-end Collisions

The story above highlights just how dangerous rear-end collisions can be, particularly when they involve high speeds or/and multiple vehicles. When more than one car is involved, liability can also become more confusing. Consider the following situation:

One white car is parked at a red light. Another vehicle – which is blue – approaches behind it and slowly comes to a stop. The blue vehicle is parked only a few inches away from the white vehicle, barely providing any space between the two.

A yellow vehicle approaches at an unsafe speed, hitting the blue vehicle, and forcing it into the white one. The driver of the white vehicle suffers a whiplash injury. When filing a claim, the driver of the white vehicle alleges that both other drivers’ insurance companies should be held partially liable; the driver of the yellow vehicle for traveling at an unsafe speed and exercising negligence when hitting the blue, and the driver of the blue vehicle for stopping at an “unreasonable” distance behind the white. In response, the insurance of the driver of the yellow vehicle alleges that the driver of the blue vehicle should take all responsibility, as this vehicle’s brake lights were not working.

As demonstrated by the example above, liability in rear-end collisions can be extremely hard to pinpoint. To reduce your risk of being in such a collision type, never drive distracted and always provide plenty of room between yourself and the vehicle in front of you.

What to Do If You Are in a Crash

If you are involved in a crash in Rockford, Illinois or surrounding areas, you should contact the aggressive Rockford car accident attorneys at Fisk & Monteleone LTD. Your free consultation with us may be the best time you have ever spent – we will advise you regarding how to file a claim and recover your maximum damages amount. Reach us now at 815-209-9030 to get started.