Illinois Injury Attorney Blog

Lillie L. Baptist, a 75 year-old resident of Kankakee was killed in a single car accident on Wednesday after the 1995 Dodge Caravan she was driving left the road on Illinois Route 17 near Lowe and Frontage roads. Kankakee County Coroner, Robert Gessner, pronounced Baptist dead at the scene at approximately 11:20 a.m. Wednesday morning.

The exact cause of the crash and death are still under investigation; however, preliminary reports showed that Baptist had slumped over the steering wheel prior to losing control of the vehicle.

Continue reading "SEVENTY-FIVE YEAR OLD KANKAKEE RESIDENT DIES IN SINGLE CAR ACCIDENT" »

Emily W. Myers, 21, and Alex E. Myers, 23, both from Arcola, Illinois, were injured when a truck ran the Ford Taurus being operated by Emily Myers off of Interstate 74 near Mansfield, Illinois, on Thursday night.

Both Emily and Alex had to be extracted by emergency personnel after their car hit a ditch embankment, flipping over twice, skidding across the eastbound interstate lanes and coming to rest in the eastbound lanes facing west. By the time the vehicle stopped, the driver's door was pinned against the guard rail. The Pair were both wearing seat-belts, and were taken to Provena Covenant Medical Center in Urbana, Illinois, where they were treated and released.

According to the accident report, Illinois State Police (out of Pesotum), found that Emily Myers was driving in the right westbound lane, before she attempted to pass a semi-tractor trailer that was driving next to her on Interstate 74 at about 8:45 p.m. Thursday evening. As Myers attempted to pass the semi-truck, reportedly operated by Mark E. King, 44, of Rockford, Illinois, King moved into the left lane and caused Myers' car move off the Interstate to avoid impact.

King was ticketed for improper lane usage, state police reported.

Continue reading "ARCOLA RESIDENTS INJURED AFTER THEIR CAR IS FORCED OFF THE ROAD BY A TRUCK ON INTERSTATE 74" »

Champaign police were forced to close the east and westbound lanes of Interstate 74 for about 10 to 15 minutes while a utility pole was put back in place by AmerenIP workers following a one-car accident that cut power to more than one hundred homes on Sunday morning. According to Champaign police, an eastbound car left Bloomington Road causing it to strike a utility pole and roll over twice. The impact forced Bloomington Road to close for several hours and cut off power to 117 residences and businesses for several hours.

The driver of the car, whom has not yet been identified, was apparently uninjured. While there was not mention of any tickets being issued, the AP reported that police did not believe the man was under the influence of alcohol or drugs. He reportedly hit a patch of ice. There were no other passengers in the vehicle.

Continue reading "SINGLE CAR ACCIDENT ON BLOOMINGTON ROAD IN CHAMPAIGN ILLINOIS CUTS OFF POWER TO 117 HOMES" »

At around 7 p.m. Thursday evening, two Jeffersonville, Indiana police officers responded to reports of a domestic dispute at a Jeffersonville Motel 6 on Eastern Boulevard. When the officers arrived, guests reported that a man pulled a gun and shot the two officers. Jefferson police department reported that both officers, 39 year-old Dan Lawhorn and 32 year-old Keith Broady, were transported to University Hospital in stable condition.

SWAT officers and members of the Jeffersonville Police Department surrounded the motel searching for the suspect.

Continue reading "TWO JEFFERSONVILLE INDIANA POLICEMEN SHOT WHILE INVESTIGATING COMPLAINTS OF DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE AT NEARBY MOTEL 6" »

Richard A. Shatto, a 38-year-old Hoopeston man, was killed in a Vermillion County Illinois car accident at 12:11 a.m. Sunday on Illinois 9 just west of Rankin, Illinois. According to police, Shatto was driving a 1997 Chevy Lumina west on Illinois Highway 9 when his car left the road and hit a guardrail. The vehicle then corrined into a field and turned over. According to reports, Mr. Shatto was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the vehicle. Although he was airlifted by helicopter to Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, Illinois, where he was pronounced dead at approximately 1:30 a.m. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

Continue reading "HOOPESTON ILLINOIS MAN KILLED IN SINGLE CAR ACCIDENT ON HIGHWAY 9 JUST WEST OF RANKIN ILLINOIS" »

The Champaign County Coroner's office has confirmed that Richard Shatto, 38, of Hoopeston, was the decedent driver in a one-car accident at 12:11 a.m. Sunday on Illinois Route 9 west of Rankin in Vermilion County. Shatto was pronounced dead just after 1:30 a.m. Sunday at Carle Foundation Hospital, after the 1997 Chevy Lumina he was driving westbound left the roadway, striking a guard rail and ejecting him while overturning in a field.

Continue reading "VERMILLION COUNTY MAN DIES IN A ONE-CAR ACCIDENT ON ROUTE 9 WEST OF RANKIN ILLINOIS" »

A Champaign County Coroner's jury ruled the death of Robert L. Winsor, 50, of Champaign, Illinois, was suicide despite the fact that police never found a gun. Winsor, whose body was found on a picnic table at Kaufman Lake in Champaign on Dec. 13, 2008, had a gunshot would to his head; however, Champaign Police Detective, Joe Johnston, reported that the gun used to kill Winsor was never recovered.

Following 20 minutes of deliberation, coroner's jury in Champaign County ruled that the cause of death of an Urbana woman, April R. Rahming, 23, was undetermined.

Ms. Rahming died on Oct. 25 after she fell out of the passenger's side of a truck driven by her then live-in boyfriend, Charles Laroe, 25, of Urbana, on the 1800 block of Willow View Road, Urbana. According to testimony, Laroe told Champaign County Sheriff's Investigators that the passenger door of his truck didn't shut properly and that he felt a bump in the road after Ms. Rahming was run over by one of the truck's rear tires.

When Laroe jumped out of the truck to attend to Ms. Rahming, he reportedly failed to put the truck into park, and it rolled another 50 to 60 feet into a ditch. Police investigators then reported that Laroe placed Ms. Rahming back in his truck and took her to the home of her parents. Laroe told police that he took her there because it was closer than the hospital and because her stepfather knew CPR. Ms. Rahming died at her parent's home.

According to Deputy Coroner Steven Skinner, autopsy findings showed Ms. Rahming suffered multiple skull fractures, swelling of her brain, multiple lacerations, rib dislocations and loss of blood.

The McLean County coroner reported that 31–year–old Timothy R. Applegate, of Stanford died January 10th after he rear–ended a stationary garbage truck. Reports indicated that Applegate crashed his car around 6:30 this morning. Preliminary investigation believes that he apparently sneezed right before the collision and was unable to stop in time. Applegate was transported to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, in Peoria, Illinois, where he was pronounced dead just after 8 am.

On Christmas Eve, William White received a call from administrator at Kindred Hospital saying that his 66-year-old wife of 48 years, Viola Jane White, was being transfered out of their facility and was on her way to a long-term facility in Ilinois. Viola had been a patient at Kindred Hospital in Green Cove Springs, and was on dialysis and a ventilator.

Shortly before the Christmas Eve transfer, officials at Kindred Hospital informed William that Medicaid and Medicare were no longer going to pay for Viola's treatment come mid November, and since White could not afford the $1,000 a day medical bills to keep her there, executives told him she could be moved to a facility in Illinois. White, however, fiercely disagreed with the decision to transfer Viola 1100 miles away and instructed them not to do so. On Christmas Eve, however, White was notified his wife was on her way to Illinois.

White said Kindred Hospital told him his wife signed the papers to send her to Illinois. White does not believe Viola was competent to sign nor that she understood what she was doing. In a written statement, Kindred Hospital justified their actions saying, "Upon receiving a physician discharge order, the patient was transferred to an appropriate, non-hospital level of care. The timing of this transfer was unfortunate."

The Illinois facility where Viola was transfered told Florida Media outlet, First Coast News, that "Elmwood Care does on occasion receive patients who are ventilator dependent and in the morbidity stage of dialysis, a service very few hospitals across the country can offer. We do receive out of town referrals on occasion, but the hospital is required to get authorization."

Nunziato also confirmed that Viola had passed away there Monday morning.

Continue reading "DYING WIFE SENT TO ILLINOIS LONG TERM CARE FACILITY IN SPITE OF HUSBAND'S WISHES" »

Funeral services will be held Saturday for a Carbondale teenager who died in a single-vehicle accident in Central Illinois in mid-December.

Alana Ross, a 19-year-old Carbondale girl was killed in a singe care accident while traveling on Interstate 57 in Effingham County on December 16, 2008. Accordingly to police investigation, Ross lost control of her vehicle and crashed. An autopsy was performed by the Champaign County Coroner, Duane Northrup.

At that time of the accident, central Illinois had been hit with a series of winter storms, and ice was reported on the interstate. Following the accident, Ross was taken to Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, Illinois, which is a Level 1 Trauma Center; however, she was pronounced dead upon arrival. While autopsy results have not been completed, Northrup said it appears Ross died from the “significant traumatic” injuries she suffered during the single car accident.

Continue reading "CARBONDALE TEEN DIES IN SINGLE CAR ACCIDENT IN CENTRAL ILLINOIS" »

At approximately 3 am, January 17, 1009, a Central Illinois teen lost control of his vehicle and struck a utility pole. Autopsy report confirmed that 18-year-old Alexander Smith died from injuries sustained in the one-car accident. The accident occurred at County Road 1000 N near the intersection of County Road 1700 East. Preliminary investigation has lead the Sheriff's Department to believe that Smith lost control of his vehicle causing the same to collide with the utility pole.

Local media outlet, WCIA 3 News, spoke with Smith's parents, who were told the news of their son's untimely death while vacationing in Florida. They reportedly flew back to Central Illinois Saturday.

According to his parents, Alex was an only child. His father described him as "a kind-hearted young man who was loved by everyone he ever met". Alex was taking mechanic classes at Parkland Community College, and had recently moved to a Philo apartment complex.