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Pedestrian Killed, Four Injured in CTA Bus Shelter Crash

Pedestrian KilledA recent auto accident left a pedestrian killed and four others injured after an SUV plowed into another vehicle and then a CTA bus shelter in Chicago’s Calumet Heights neighborhood. This tragic incident serves as a troubling reminder of the heightened risks that pedestrians face in traffic crashes.

Pedestrian Killed, Four Others Injured

On the evening of April 10, 2018, at about 6:22 p.m., a BMW SUV was traveling northbound on Stony Island Ave., while a Chevrolet sedan was traveling southbound on the same street. Both of them were approaching the street’s intersection with 95th St.

The sedan then began making a left-hand turn when the BMW collided with it. The collision reportedly caused the BMW’s driver to lose control and strike a woman standing on the sidewalk, before crashing into a CTA bus shelter in the 1600 block of East 95th St.

The woman whom the BMW struck was pronounced dead at the scene. The pedestrian killed was later identified as 67-year-old Janice Gilmore, who lived in Chicago’s Pill Hill neighborhood on the city’s South Side.

In addition to the pedestrian killed, four others sustained injuries as a result of the crash. A 25-year-old female passenger in the sedan was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in critical condition. According to police, her condition has since been stabilized. Two women, ages 20 and 21, and a girl, age 5, had also been standing at the CTA bus shelter at the time of the collision. They later went to Trinity Hospital for treatment for what were reportedly minor injuries.

Police cited the BMW’s driver for failing to reduce his speed to avoid a crash and for operating an uninsured motor vehicle. The cause of the crash has yet to be determined, though the Major Accidents Investigation Unit is looking into the incident.

Pedestrians Increasingly at Risk

This crash tragically left a pedestrian killed in its wake, but perhaps even more troubling is the fact that it is far from an isolated incident in the United States, where tens of thousands of pedestrians are injured or killed each year.

In 2015 alone, there were an estimated 70,000 pedestrians injured and 5,376 killed across the country. On average, that amounts to a pedestrian killed every 1.6 hours and another injured every 7.5 minutes in traffic crashes.

150 of those pedestrians were killed in accidents across Illinois, bringing the total to 18 percent more than in 2014. Almost one-third of these deaths occurred in Chicago, where the city’s pedestrian fatality rate increased 31 percent from the previous year.

Alarmingly, this trend continues to get worse, not better. A 2017 report by the Governors Highway Safety Association found that the estimated number of pedestrians killed in traffic accidents in 2016 was 5,997, an 11 percent increase. That marks the biggest single-year increase in pedestrian traffic deaths ever and the highest total number since 1990.

And while pedestrian deaths only accounted for 16 percent of total traffic fatalities in 2016, the likelihood of there being a pedestrian killed or seriously injured in any given incident can be far worse. Even at low speeds, the impact of thousands of pounds of metal against the exposed human body can result in catastrophic injuries.

Illinois Pedestrian Accidents Attorneys

Have you been struck by a motor vehicle, or are you the loved one of a pedestrian killed in a traffic accident? If so, like many other injured pedestrians, you may find that you might benefit from the guidance of an experienced and dedicated attorney, like the Illinois pedestrian accidents attorneys at GWC Injury Lawyers.

As Illinois’ largest Personal Injury and Workers’ Compensation law firm, GWC has successfully recovered more than $2 BILLION for our clients.

If you or your loved one has been injured, please contact GWC today to schedule a free consultation with one of our attorneys. Call our office at (312) 464-1234 or click here to chat with one of our representatives.

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