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Reporters in Hampshire, Illinois, detail an account of a semi-truck collision that set off a chain-reaction that resulted in eight deaths.
According to officials responding to the emergency, a semi-truck plowed into a tour bus on a Wednesday afternoon in 2003 on Interstate 90 in Illinois. The chain reaction that ensued left eight members of an international women’s group dead.
The Chicago-based International Women’s Associates offers support for women from overseas and in the diplomatic field. It has about 450 members from 60 countries. The group had taken a day trip from Chicago to Rockford. The 22 passengers had gone to see a Japanese floral exhibit.
Seven of the death pronouncements were made on the scene while 16 other victims were taken to area hospitals with various injuries. A Master Sergeant with the Illinois State Police said six of the sixteen were in critical condition. One of these patients died that evening, bringing the death toll to 8.
Another State Police Trooper reported that traffic was slowed for a toll plaza when the tractor-trailer careened into the back of the tour bus. The force of that impact pushed the bus into the back of another semi-truck, through the second truck’s trailer, and onto the median. A pickup truck hit the second tractor trailer which hit a third semi.
Witnesses said the scene looked “like a plane crash.” Wreckage was strewn about the highway and median, and bodies were on the ground.
After 17 years with the state police, the trooper still said this wreck was one of the worst he’d seen. Accidents like this one occur often on the LIE in Suffolk and Nassau Counties.
All fatalities and most of the injuries were confined to the tour bus. A New York Truck Accident Attorney found that the bus belonged to Leisure Pursuit Charters.
The NY Truck Accident Lawyer also points out that causation is important in a case like this. Was the driver impaired? Did something on the tractor trailer break making it impossible to stop? Causation and fault are important for victims – and their lawyers. Accessing public records and reports allows victim’s attorneys to seek the proper compensation from the proper sources.
Should you need professional help seeking such compensation, contact a New York Truck Accident Attorney today. There is no time to lose when fighting for what’s yours. The Office of Stephen Bilkis and Associates can offer you support and guidance as well as a free consultation when you contact us at 1-800-NY-NY-LAW. We have offices in N York City, including Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island and The Bronx and in Nassau County, Suffolk County and Westchester County.