Traffic was backed up for hours while a busy Illinois highway was closed so that a helicopter could land and remove one of the victims of a crash. The car accident happened on July 7 in the early afternoon. As a result of the crash, one person suffered serious burns and four others were taken to local hospitals with injuries.
The incidents that led up to the crash could happen on any road in any state, any day of the week, though establishing liability can be nonetheless tricky. According to a report, one driver suddenly swerved to avoid another car, and this sudden action caused a collision between the swerving car and a third vehicle. The two cars that collided ended up going off of the road, where one of them caught fire. One person in that vehicle suffered serious burns and had to be airlifted from the scene. Four other people were also taken to area hospitals.
At the time of a local report, it was not exactly clear what caused the first car to swerve, other than to avoid hitting another vehicle. Authorities will likely continue to investigate. Identifying the vehicle that the first driver avoided hitting may be on the investigators’ agenda, but the chance of that identification may be slim. However, other witnesses could offer additional insight into what happened.
In the meantime, the burn victim and the others who were injured will need adequate time to recover, and that could mean mounting medical expenses and time off from work. With that in mind, the injured parties may also consider whether negligence played a part in the accident. If negligence was a factor, then those who suffered injuries could be entitled to compensation for damages.
Source: rrstar.com, “5 injured in car crash, fire on I-90 in Belvidere,” July 7, 2012