Peoria car accident leaves Carlinville teen dead

 Posted on January 21, 2014 in Firm News

Icy road conditions are not uncommon in Sangamon County at this of the year. Drivers are encouraged to slow down so as to avoid losing control of their vehicles. Unfortunately, there usually always someone who's either running late, who gets distracted, or who just thinks he or she can drive fast that ignores these warnings and ends up in a car accident. Sadly, these drivers aren't the only ones at risk when these accidents happen. They also place any passengers traveling in their vehicles with them in danger.

A recent accident in Peoria serves as a stark reminder of this fact. A pickup truck loaded with passengers lost control on icy roads and collided with another vehicle, throwing three of the truck's occupants from the vehicle. Two of those ejected were rushed to a local hospital, while the third, a Carlinville teen, was pronounced dead at the scene. No other life-threatening injuries to the other accident victims were reported. It's believed that none of the truck's occupants were wearing seatbelts.

While a degree of personal responsibility lies with each of the passengers in the truck to wear their seatbelts, the driver's performance could certainly come under scrutiny. This raises the question of whether liability lies with the driver from driving too fast given the road conditions, or with local authorities for failing to maintain safe roadways. It was reported that city and county officials did released alerts warning drivers to slow down the morning after the accident.

While the issue of liability probably does little to relieve the grief felt by the family of the accident victim, it is important to know should they push for compensation for their pain and suffering. Those in a similar situation may wish to seek the assistance of an attorney to pursue action following the loss of their loved ones.

Source: Clproud.com "Teen Dies in Fatal car Crash on I-74" Dec. 29, 2013