A 20-year-old woman was tragically killed Tuesday morning when her bicycle was struck by a semi truck hauling a load of bricks. She was riding her bike in the 800 block of Milwaukee Avenue, in the bike lane, headed to downtown Chicago, when she was stuck by an Illinois Brick Company 18-wheeler semi truck. The driver of the semi called the police immediately after realizing he struck the cyclist. She was taken to Northwestern hospital, but passed away.
Residents of the area say the volume of traffic on the street was dangerous, particularly during rush-hour. Summer road construction added to the congestion. According to an ABC 7 report of the incident, part of the roadway had a protected bike lane while other sections of the road did not.
The woman was an undergrad at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). The community is mourning her loss and SAIC will be offering counseling for students and friends. We were not able to locate a Go Fund Me for her family, but if anyone is aware of one we would be happy to add it here.
Related Case
Attorneys Fred Pritzker and Eric Hageman handled a similar semi/bicycle wrongful death case. They were able to recover millions for the family of a bicyclist who was killed by an oversized semi truck making a right-hand turn. In this case the bicyclist was also caught under the semi. The initial police report claimed the truck driver was not at fault. The attorneys conducted an extensive independent investigation and revealed several causative factors that shifted the fault off the bicyclist onto the driver. The video below is part of the evidence they presented to the jury during trial.
Fred, an avid cyclist himself, is passionate about protecting the road rights and safety of bicyclists. He knows no sum of money can fill the void of the untimely death of a loved one, but it can help survivors feel justice is served and someone is being held accountable.
