A woman had to be extricated from her minivan and transported to an area hospital following a Rockford hit-and-run crash.
Driver Fled on Foot in Rockford Hit-and-Run Crash
On March 9, 2020, at approximately 12:44 p.m., first responders from the Rockford Fire Department were called to the 2400 block of North Rockton Avenue, where they found a minivan and a sedan that had been involved in a collision. Both vehicles had reportedly flipped in the crashed. A female driver was seated in the minivan, while the driver of the sedan fled the scene of the Rockford hit-and-run crash on foot before authorities arrived.
Rockford Fire Department officials said that it took about 21 minutes to extricate the driver from the minivan. She was then transported to Javon Bea Hospital-Rockton Campus for treatment for injuries she sustained in the Rockford hit-and-run crash.
Hit-and-Run Victims Face More Obstacles
Under Illinois law, there are significant criminal penalties for drivers who fail to stop at the scene of an accident, especially in cases involving injury. A hit-and-run crash that inflicts injury is a Class 2 Felony, which carries a potential sentence of up to seven years in prison and/or a fine of up to $25,000.00. It becomes a Class 1 Felony if anyone is killed in the collision, which carries a maximum prison sentence of as much as 15 years.
But even with these serious penalties, incidents like this Rockford hit-and-run crash continue to happen – in fact, they may even be on the rise nationwide. A study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that:
- Eleven percent of all American auto accidents involve hit-and-run drivers.
- There is more than one hit-and-run crash each minute.
- There has been an average of 682,000 hit-and-run crashes each year since 1986.
- There were 2,049 hit-and-run deaths in 2016, representing a 62 percent increase from 2009, the last year in which a downward trend was recorded.
These accident statistics become more troubling in light of the fact that hit-and-run crash victims face more obstacles when seeking compensation for their injuries. This is a result of the fact that hit-and-run drivers, by definition, leave without sharing their insurance information – assuming they even have insurance.
Despite these challenges, financial recovery is not impossible. A plaintiff may be able to obtain insurance information if a hit-and-run driver is located and then pursue a claim against that policy. If a driver either is not found or does not have sufficient insurance coverage, an injured person might still eligible for financial compensation through an uninsured/underinsured motorist (UIM) policy.
Rockford Car Accident Lawyers Helping You Get Justice
As you can see, even in a hit-and-run crash, multiple avenues of recovery may still be available, but a successful outcome is far from certain. It takes experience and skill at negotiating hit-and-run crashes to obtain full and fair compensation. In order to maximize the value of this compensation, consider doing what so many others have done before you and contact the Rockford car accident attorneys at GWC Injury Lawyers LLC.
GWC is one of the premier Personal Injury and Workers’ Compensation law firms in Illinois, having recovered more than $2 billion in verdicts and settlements on behalf of wrongfully injured clients. No other firm in the state is more respected, or more feared, by its opponents, both inside and outside of the courtroom. Let our dedicated attorneys help you and your family get the justice you deserve.
If you or a loved one have been injured as a result of somebody else’s negligence, call our office at (312) 464-1234 or click here to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with one of our Rockford car accident lawyers.
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