 |
| North Homan Avenue Towards Scene of Crash |
Keating Law Offices has filed a Wrongful Death lawsuit on behalf of the family of deceased Chicago bicyclist, Louis Ray Smith. The lawsuit is against the driver of the motor vehicle involved in the fatal crash on the evening of June 5, 2017 near Chicago's East Garfield Park neighborhood.
Prior to the crash, Mr. Smith, a bicyclist was riding northbound on Homan Avenue near its intersection with West Lake Street. At the same time, the driver drove her motor vehicle southbound on Homan Avenue through its intersection with West Lake Street. The collision occurred on Homan Avenue. Mr. Smith was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital following the collision, but unfortunately, he was pronounced dead within the hour.
On June 5, 2017 the City of Chicago Police Department issued the driver a citation and the traffic court proceedings are currently on-going. The crash also remains under investigation by the City of Chicago Police Department Major Accidents Investigation Unit. Investigations by MAIU can take days or even months before their findings are released. The Chicago Police Department has obtained video from a nearby business that depicts the fatal collision.
According to the lawsuit filed on April 24, 2018 in the Law Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, the driver allegedly failed to exercise due care to avoid colliding with a person operating a bicycle, an action that is in direct violation of 625 ILCS 5/11-1003.1 of the Illinois Vehicle Code and Section 9-40-160 of the Chicago Municipal Code. The lawsuit also alleged that the driver disregarded a traffic control signal, drove too fast for the dark conditions and failed to yield the right-of-way and these failures caused Mr. Smith to suffer injuries that resulted in his death.
All Illinois drivers have a duty to keep a proper lookout for bicyclists or other vehicles upon said streets. If a driver were to fail to keep a proper lookout for a bicyclist and then struck said bicyclist, that driver would be liable for the injuries the bicyclist suffered. All Illinois drivers also have a duty to make sure that their vehicles move into a lane of traffic safely and that they exercise due care to avoid colliding with any person operating a bicycle.
According to the lawsuit filed on April 24, 2018 in the Law Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, the driver allegedly failed to exercise due care to avoid colliding with a person operating a bicycle, an action that is in direct violation of 625 ILCS 5/11-1003.1 of the Illinois Vehicle Code and Section 9-40-160 of the Chicago Municipal Code. The lawsuit also alleged that the driver disregarded a traffic control signal, drove too fast for the dark conditions and failed to yield the right-of-way and these failures caused Mr. Smith to suffer injuries that resulted in his death.
All Illinois drivers have a duty to keep a proper lookout for bicyclists or other vehicles upon said streets. If a driver were to fail to keep a proper lookout for a bicyclist and then struck said bicyclist, that driver would be liable for the injuries the bicyclist suffered. All Illinois drivers also have a duty to make sure that their vehicles move into a lane of traffic safely and that they exercise due care to avoid colliding with any person operating a bicycle.
The Estate of Louis Ray Smith is represented by attorneys Michael Keating and Catelyn Viggiano of Keating Law Offices.