Illinois residents who work hard to drive safely and obey the law should be able to trust that others will do the same. Sadly, that is not the case. Even when much research has been done and effort given to increasing awareness about the danger of certain behaviors, some people are simply too selfish to make good choices. Drinking and driving is an ideal example of this.
For decades now groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving have made it very clear that operating a vehicle after consuming alcohol is not safe. Yet, drivers continue to do so. When this happens, innocent people are put in harm’s way. An example of this can be seen in a deadly crash that took place along a stretch of Interstate 55 in Illinois for which a man was recently convicted of aggravated driving under the influence causing death.
A woman’s vehicle experienced problems and she had to stop. While outside of her vehicle, she was hit and killed by a drunk driver. To make matters even worse, her three children were in the vehicle at the time of her death. All of the children were aged eight or younger. It is not known if a civil suit was ever filed in the case but the man now faces up to 14 years in prison for the criminal charge.
When tragedies like this happen, nothing is able to bring a life back. However, Illinois residents may find it helpful to talk with an attorney about how to seek other forms of compensation.
Source: Fox 2 Now “Maryville man pleads guilty to DUI in 2015 fatal crash,” Kevin S. Held, March 15, 2017