NASCAR Driver Tony Stewart Could Face Civil & Criminal Charges For Fatal Crash

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NASCAR driver Tony Stewart made national headlines for a fatal crash that occurred Saturday night after his sprint car struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr. in a Saturday night race at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Motorsports Park. To recap, Stewart, who entered this race despite being scheduled for an actual NASCAR event the next day, had an altercation with Ward Jr. while rounding the track which resulted in knocking Ward Jr’s sprint car to the side of the track. A furious Ward Jr. exited his vehicle and walked onto the race track and pointed his finger at Stewart. As Steward was passing Ward Jr., the back end of his car fishtailed and struck Ward Jr. and ultimately killed him right at the scene.

Criminal Charges:

I can honestly say with a straight face that Tony Stewart will not be facing murder charges for this fatal crash as it appears clear that he did not purposely try to injure or kill Ward Jr. The county sheriff and prosecutor are investigating the case right now and I believe it is possible we could see manslaughter charges against Stewart. According to the criminal law attorney  the level of charge depends upon the intent or what is called mens rea. The prosecutor could conclude that Stewart acted with reckless indifference towards Ward Jr. by driving so close and swerving his car in a way that caused it to fishtail into Ward Jr. The prosecutor may conclude that Steward should have known these actions would cause great bodily harm. These are the types of charges that result often times from drunk driving or reckless driving deaths. The intent (mens rea) was not purposeful but it could be argued that Stewart acted with such indifference towards Ward Jr. that he should be charged. Even if charges are brought, I think this will be a very tough case for the prosecutor because Ward Jr. was acting reckless himself by walking out onto the race track and could be viewed merely as an accident.

Civil Liability:

There is no question that the family of Ward Jr. will file a wrongful death lawsuit against both Tony Stewart and his team and the owners of the race track. The lawsuit will allege that Stewart acted negligently by driving so close and driving in a way causing it to fishtail into Ward Jr. Further, Ward Jr.’s attorneys will argue that Stewart, a veteran driver, should have know that his car could have reacted that way and a fish tail action could have swerved into Ward Jr. Again, like the criminal case, this will be a tough to prove for Ward Jr.’s family because their son acted negligently himself by walking onto the track. Ward Jr., no doubt, will be found at least partially at fault for his own death. This is referred to as comparative fault, which depending on the percentage found by the jury, could reduce any award given to the family. If Stewart (and the race track) are found at least 51% at fault, then Stewart and the race track owners will have to pay damages to the Ward Jr. family for his wrongful death.

This is a case I will be following closely and will definitely be posting about again once we learn more information.

If you or someone you love has been involved in an Illinois wrongful death case or a Chicago car crash, then call Chicago personal injury attorney, Aaron Bryant, for a free legal consultation at 312-614-1076.

9,000 Red Light Ticket Recipients Will Receive Chance To Appeal

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I wrote recently about the Chicago Tribune investigative article about abnormal spikes in red light camera tickets at various locations around the city. This story made news headlines around the country. The City Council responded last week with a hearing on the issue and announced that they were going to give ticket recipients a chance to appeal.

At a hearing of the City Council Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety, Transportation Commissioner Rebekah Scheinfeld said the city’s Finance Department will send letters to approximately 9,000 motorists who were issued a red light camera. Those people will be invited to get a new review of their case, and if it’s found the violation was an error, they’ll get a refund.

At the hearing, Commissioner Scheinfeld did come to the defense of how the red light cameras work and that there could be explanations for some of the spikes in tickets:

“It is important to note that there are always spikes in any automated enforcement system due to fluctuations in traffic volume and driver behavior where cameras are located. For example, if a street is closed for construction, increased traffic flow on an adjacent street or alternate route might drive up violations for a period of time during that construction. The occurrence of special events or severe weather can also create significant changes in traffic patterns,” she added.

In particular, she noted one spike cited by the Tribune — at 119th and Halsted in May and June 2011 — appeared to be the result of a project to repair the 111th Street and 115th Street bridges over Interstate 57. Shcheinfeld said the city believes drivers likely used Halsted to bypass the construction work by exiting I-57 at 99th and Halsted, then heading south to 119th Street to get back on the interstate.

I have called into question the validity of red light tickets from the beginning. Both former Mayor Daley and now Emanuel have stated over and over that the red light cameras (and speed cameras) are used for safety purposes. I have written in the past and still believe that this is a ruse and merely money grab by the city. There have been studies around the country concluding that red light cameras actually make intersections MORE dangerous because drivers stop quickly and increase the chance of a car crash. You can read one particular study here.

Now we learn that thousands of these tickets may have been erroneously issued. Prior to that we learned that Redflex, the company that handled the speeder cameras, bribed their way into their contract with the city. This lead to a class action lawsuit against Redflex for being unjustly enriched for the work done for their city based on illegal bribes. I have to ask, when to we finally call for end to these types of tickets?  I have to give the city some credit for at least recognizing the possible errors here and the potential for ticket recipients to be refunded their money.

If you or someone you know has been seriously injured in a Chicago car accident or Chicago truck accident, then call Chicago personal injury lawyer, Aaron Bryant, for a free legal consultation at 312-614-1076.

 

Chicago Police To Focus On Drivers Who Ignore Cross Walks

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Despite a pedestrian safety law passed by the state of Illinois in 2010, pedestrian accidents have continued to be a huge issue in the city of Chicago. According to the Chicago Tribune, Chicago averages 3,000 auto pedestrian accidents and 30 pedestrian deaths per year. To combat this issue, Chicago police have organized 60 pedestrian safety enforcement stings planned for this year to draw attention to this ongoing issue. The operations will be conducted close to schools, senior citizen housing and busy retail areas, officials said.

Motorists are required to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks under a state law that took effect in 2010. The law, which carries a possible $120 fine in Chicago and up to $500 in some other jurisdictions, replaced a requirement that drivers yield to pedestrians and stop when necessary.

Chicago police last year issued more than 1,200 tickets for failure to stop for pedestrians at crosswalks, officials said. City officials say their goal is to eliminate half of serious pedestrian injuries during the next five years and the other half five years after that.

As I have written about multiple times in the past, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago officials have made it a priority to make city streets safe and accessible for bicyclists. I think equal attention needs to be provided for pedestrian safety. We live in one of the most congested cities in North America for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians, and this type of enforcement is necessary to ensure drivers are following the rules of the road, which will in turn protect everyone – – including pedestrians.

If you or someone you love has been injured in a Chicago pedestrian accident or Chicago car crash, then call Chicago personal injury lawyer, Aaron Bryant for a free legal consultation at 312-614-1076.

Chicago Officials Announce First Barrier Protected Bike Lane

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The fantastic Chicago website DNAinfo.com reported this week that Chicago transportation officials have begun plans for the first concrete barrier protected bicycle lane. The lane will be constructed on a stretch of Clybourn in the Old Town neighborhood. “This would be the first use of concrete physical separation,” said Nathan Roseberry, a senior engineer with the Illinois Department of Transportation. “We are going to be using this project as a means to study elements of the design to see how they work, see how they can be improved.”

The first proposal would include barrier-protected lanes on both sides of the street from Halsted Street to Division Street.

A second proposal, presented as an alternative, would include barrier-protected lanes from Halsted to Larrabee, and then a striped bike lane from Larrabee to Division. That option would preserve parking spaces, but would get rid of the physical separation between cyclists and vehicle traffic.

Both options would take Clybourn down to one lane of traffic at all times and result in a loss of parking along the street.

This is continued progress for Mayor Emanuel and his quest to make Chicago the most bicycle friendly city in North America. The positive development for me is that this should prevent potential violent traffic accidents between bikes and automobiles. The isolated  bike lane will protect bicyclists from vehicle collisions and dooring accidents. I will be interested to see if the city plans on adding additional barriers to bike lanes in other parts of the city, including downtown.

If you or someone you love has been injured in a Chicago bike accident or Chicago car accident, then call Chicago personal injury, Aaron Bryant, for a free legal consultation at 312-614-1076.

Chicago Tribune Investigation Reveals Thousands Of Bogus Red Light Camera Tickets

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I wrote last week about a class action lawsuit filed against the red light camera technology company, Redflex, that the city of Chicago contracted with for its red light camera enforcement. The basis of the lawsuit was that Redflex unjustly profited from ticket fines after it was revealed that they bribed their way into the contract with Chicago transportation officials.

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, the Chicago Tribune published an article based on a 10 month investigation about bogus tickets being produced by the Redflex technology. The investigation reported the following irregularities in ticket enforcement:

“Cameras that for years generated just a few tickets daily suddenly caught dozens of drivers a day. One camera near the United Center rocketed from generating one ticket per day to 56 per day for a two-week period last summer before mysteriously dropping back to normal.

Tickets for so-called rolling right turns on red shot up during some of the most dramatic spikes, suggesting an unannounced change in enforcement. One North Side camera generated only a dozen tickets for rolling rights out of 100 total tickets in the entire second half of 2011. Then, over a 12-day spike, it spewed 563 tickets—560 of them for rolling rights.

Many of the spikes were marked by periods immediately before or after when no tickets were issued—downtimes suggesting human intervention that should have been documented. City officials said they cannot explain the absence of such records.”

I think one of two things (or possibly both) will happen. First, the city and Redflex will offer refunds on tickets paid during this period of abnormal ticket enforcement. The second is another class action lawsuit against Redflex and possibly the city. Regardless if this glitch in the system was done intentionally or not (both the city and Redflex stated they knew nothing until the investigation came out), those ticketed on these dates should be reimbursed.

If you or someone you love has been seriously injured in a Chicago car crash or Chicago truck accident, then call Chicago personal injury lawyer, Aaron Bryant, for a free legal consultation at 312-614-1076.

 

Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Former Chicago Red Light Camera Company

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CBS Chicago reported today that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Redflex Traffic Systems alleging that they owe $100 million to motorists who received red light tickets while the company was doing business with the city of Chicago. The lawsuit alleges that motorists are owed a refund because Redflex only received the contract for their services through bribery.

Redflex was removed of their services in 2013 after it was revealed that the company had bribed a city of Chicago transportation official in order to gain the contract for the red light cameras.  The lawsuit states in part:

“As a direct result of the bribery scheme, defendants were able to contractually retain approximately 20-25% of all ‘ticket revenue’ generated by tickets… Both Redflex and the City of Chicago have recognized that the Redflex contract with the City of Chicago was secured through corrupt behavior… As such, Redflex’s $100 million (+) dollars in revenue since 2003 generated under the corrupt contract represents ill-gotten gains that have unjustly enriched Redflex. Defendants’ retention of said benefit violates the fundamental principles of justice, equity, and good conscience.”

Both personal injury and class action attorneys often receive a bad rap for the work they do. They are portrayed by the insurance company lobbyists and in the media as greedy and self –serving. As a result, the general public overlooks that the work performed by the plaintiff’s bar is done to make our society safer or to correct a wrong where companies have been unjustly enriched at an expense to the public. It must be recognized that plaintiff and class action attorneys work hard to save lives and also give a fair shake to everyone. This is most evident when companies are made aware of and forced to repair a faulty product like defective car seats or strollers. Or, in this situation where a private company may be forced to pay back millions in profit they received from bribing city officials. I say this class action lawsuit is just and was a long time coming.

If you or someone you love has been injured in a Chicago car accident or Chicago truck accident, then call Chicago personal injury attorney, Aaron Bryant, for a free legal consultation at 312-614-1076.

Tracy Morgan Files Lawsuit Against Wal-Mart & Truck Driver

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Famous actor and comedian, Tracy Morgan, has filed a lawsuit in Federal Court in New Jersey regarding the deadly truck accident that killed another passenger in Mr. Morgan’s limousine and seriously injured two others. The limousine was travelling to New York from a show in Delaware when they slowed down for construction on Interstate 95 near Cranbury Township, N.J., and were hit by the truck just before 1 a.m. The vehicle collision forced the limousine into six other vehicles.

The lawsuit alleges negligent and reckless behavior by Wal-Mart and their employee and the complaint specifically states, ““Wal-Mart knew or should have known that it was unreasonable for Mr. Roper to commute more than 700 miles from his home in Jonesboro, Georgia to work at a Wal-Mart facility in Smyrna, Delaware, especially immediately before he was to commence a long shift operating a truck that weighed approximately 30–40 tons.” The lawsuit also alleges that the truck driver fell asleep at the wheel at the time of the accident. 

If it is determined that Wal-Mart and it’s employee were negligent and caused this accident, they will be responsible for Mr. Morgan’s and the other injured passengers’ medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. Something that is unclear at this point is whether the Mr. Morgan’s attorneys will be seeking punitive damages against the defendants. Punitive damages are awarded above the normal economic (bills and lost wages) and non-economic damages (pain and suffering) as a form of punishment of willful and wanton behavior by a defendant. For example, Mr. Morgan can allege that Wal-Mart consciously disregarded the safety of others by allowing their driver to continue to drive without sleep even though they knew this created an extreme danger to fellow motorists and violated state and federal trucking statutes. This will be an interesting case to follow as it involves a famous plaintiff and defendant but unfortunately truck accidents happen like this to everyday people around the country.

If you or someone you love has been seriously injured in a Chicago car crash or Chicago truck accident, then call Chicago personal injury attorney, Aaron Bryant, for a free legal consultation at 312-614-1076.

 

Rideshare Bill Awaits Gov Quinn’s Signature, While Uber Announces Big Chicago Expansion

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I have written multiple times about the battle between rideshare companies like Uber and their battle with taxi companies. Specifically, I wrote in May about the new legislation passed by the city council, which regulates the rideshare companies by requiring minimum insurance, caps on surge pricing and background checks for its drivers, among others.

The state version of rideshare legislation has passed both the House and Senate and is currently sitting on Governor Quinn’s desk. The state version, which can be read here, is viewed to be much more far-reaching in it’s’ regulation. It would include that all drivers obtain a chauffer’s license. The sponsor of the bill, Mike Zalewski, told Crain’s magazine “I applaud Uber for wanting to grow its business in Chicago. There is no reason why that cannot happen with this law in place to put customer safety first, as supported by a strong bi-partisan majority of the Illinois House and Senate. I hope the governor will sign it into law soon.” Zalewski believes that the regulations are in the best interest safety and welfare of the commuting public.

Meanwhile, Uber announced this month that they plan a huge expansion in Chicago that would add 500 new well paid jobs. They are urging Governor Quinn via social media and other avenues to veto the rideshare bill.

The questions remains for me: what is the best protection for the commuters and for pedestrians? It seems to me that the city legislation that passed in May was a good compromise. It required that companies like Uber increase their insurance coverage to protect injured passengers in case a significant car crash or pedestrian accident. It will be interesting to see what Governor Quinn does in this case and whether he decides to veto. I will be watching this closely and will report and write about it once any news breaks.

If you or someone you love has been injured in a serious Chicago car accident or Chicago truck accident, then call Chicago personal injury attorney, Aaron Bryant, for a free legal consultation at 312-614-1076.

Chicago Added 12 New Speed Cameras

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If you have a history of speeding around the city, beware, because My Fox Chicago reported over the weekend that 12 new speeder cameras were being installed around the city. As I have written in the past, despite the city’s claims that these are being used as a safety measure, these cameras seem like a money grab to me. Regardless, warnings will be issued for the first 30 days after cameras are installed, the department said. When fines are instituted, speeders will be charged $35 for driving 10 mph over the speed limit and $100 for going 11 mph or more.

Below is a list of the 12 new locations where the cameras will be installed:

Taft High School, 6545 W. Hurlbut St.

-Ashmore Playlot Park, 4807 W. Gunnison St.

-Beverly Park, 2460 W. 102nd St.

-Chicago Vocational High School, 2100 E. 87th St.

-Loop Lab School, 318 W. Adams St.

-Wicker Park 1425 N. Damen Ave.

-Keystone Park, 1655 N. Keystone Ave.

-Frazier International Magnet School, 4027 W. Grenshaw St.

-St. Gall Elementary School, 5515 S. Sawyer Ave.

-Foster Park, 1400 W. 84th St.

-Dulles Elementary School, 6311 S. Calumet Ave.

-Mulberry Park, 3150 S. Robinson Ct.

If you or someone you love has been seriously injured in a Chicago car accident or Chicago truck accident, then call Chicago personal injury attorney, Aaron Bryant, for a free legal consultation at 312-614-1076.

Illinois Governor Quinn Signs New Boating Safety Bills Into Law

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It is summer time and the boating season is full swing. If you live in Chicago you can see that Lake Michigan is filled with hundreds of boats daily. The same can be said for lakes throughout the state of Illinois. Boating safety was a priority for Illinois lawmakers in 2014 and according to the Chicago Tribune; Governor Quinn signed 3 new boating safety bills into law.

The sponsor of the bills was State Sen. Julie Morrison, a Deerfield Democrat, whose 10-year-old nephew died when a boater under the influence of alcohol and cocaine struck and killed him on Lake Petite Lake near Lake Villa on July 28, 2012. 

The bills signed Saturday both increase the powers of law enforcement and put new restrictions and requirements on boaters.

Under one of them, a persons’ watercraft can be seized after multiple DUI offenses. In a second bill, all people born after January 1998 will be forced to take a boater safety course and hold a boater safety certificate before they can operate a boat with an engine over 10 horsepower, according to Quinn’s office.

The final bill requires that any water craft that are towing a person display a bright orange flag no less than 12 inches per side.

In 2014 so far, there have been 16 boating fatalities reported on Illinois waterways. Drinking and boating is equally as dangerous as drinking and driving and the penalties for doing so should be stiff. People’s lives are at stake if a boater is driving negligently, untrained and obviously under the influence. Quite frankly, I believe the new law requiring boaters born after 1998 to take safety courses does not go far enough. Why not extend to 1993 (or anyone 21 years and under).

If you or someone you love has been injured in an Illinois boating accident or Chicago car crash, then call Chicago personal injury attorney, Aaron Bryant, for a free legal consultation at 312-614-1076.