Wrong-way driver kills two nuns in Illinois

Wrong-way driver kills two nuns in Illinois

An 81-year-old Illinois man sped through a red light and crashed into oncoming traffic, killing two nuns and himself on Oct. 5. Eleven vehicles were involved in the accident, and 23 people were injured, two of them critically.

Police said the man was driving his pickup truck at 80 to 100 miles per hour when he ran a red light at 95th Street and Cicero Avenue in Oak Lawn, Illinois, smashing into oncoming vehicles stopped at the light. An 86-year-old woman and a 48-year-old woman, both nuns at Little Company of Mary Sisters, were riding in the first car the man struck. They were pronounced dead at the scene.

A witness told authorities he saw the driver slumped behind the wheel of his truck at 95th and Western Avenue shortly before the crash. The witness was not sure if the man was ill or sleeping, so he approached the truck and offered to help. The driver allegedly said he was okay and drove off. Soon after, his pickup hit three cars near 95th and Keeler Avenue and then ran the red light at Cicero, causing the deadly accident.

Authorities are awaiting toxicology results on the pickup driver to determine if alcohol was a factor in the crash. They are also exploring the man’s medical history for clues to his behavior.

When a fatal car crash is caused by the negligence of another driver, the family of a victim lost in the accident may wish to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit. An attorney may be able to use eye-witness accounts, accident reports and toxicology results to show the driver who caused the accident was intoxicated, fatigued or distracted at the time of the crash.

Source: CBS Chicago, “Two Nuns, Elderly Man Killed in ‘Bizarre’ Oak Lawn Wreck,” Oct. 5, 2014

Source: ABC13, “Two Nuns and Driver Killed in 11-Vehicle Crash in Chicago“, October 06, 2014