Illinois officials are investigating a horrific crash that happened recently on Interstate 70. The car accident claimed the life of five of the people inside the one van involved in the incident. Others in the van were taken to local area hospitals, where they are being treated for their injuries.
For reasons that are as yet unclear to Illinois officials, a van travelling eastbound on I-70 left the roadway. This caused the vehicle to begin to roll before coming to a stop. During the single vehicle car accident, several victims were ejected.
It appears that the 15-passenger van at the center of this unfortunate incident was loaded with 11 people at the time of the crash. Of those, five died in the incident, leaving the other 6 injured, though the degree of their injuries is as yet unknown. The car accident happened near Vandalia on a holiday weekend.
When a car accident such as this one occurs, officials are often left asking why it happened. This can lead to the questioning of eyewitnesses, skid mark review and intoxication tests. The result of such an inquiry can lead to criminal charges for a driver in some instances. Regardless of the result of any criminal investigation, victims of a car accident like this often find that they are able to make a claim against the driver deemed to be at fault by using Illinois personal injury laws. Such laws are intended to assist innocent victims, or their survivors, with the economic costs associated with a crash.
Source: CNN, “5 dead in Illinois van crash,” Carma Hassan, May 20, 2013