Five vehicles were involved in a chain reaction crash on I-57 that happened early Sunday morning, December 16, 2012. The accident occurred on the northbound side of I-57 close to 147th Street, near Posen in Cook County.
The accident that happened in the wee hours of Sunday morning forced the interstate to be shut down, according to Illinois State Trooper Ivan Bukaczyk. The interstate remained partially closed until after 3:30 a.m. First responders arrived at the scene and transported five victims to local hospitals for examination and treatment. It was reported that none of them sustained life threatening injuries.
When comparing how the victims fared in the Chicago accident to other recent accidents across our nation they seem to have dodged a bullet. A massive chain reaction accident in Texas, on Thanksgiving Day, involved nearly 150 vehicles and resulted in injuries to almost 100 people. Two people were killed when their Suburban, which had been involved in a minor collision, was rear ended and crushed by a tractor trailer rig. More than a dozen others involved received serious to critical injuries. The massive accident occurred around 8:45 a.m., when fog made visibility nearly impossible and concealed the slowed or stopped vehicles on and near the roadway.
The accident happened on the east bound side of I-10 outside of Beaumont, Texas. The scene was like a war zone, according to investigating officers, with debris and people spread over a mile on both sides of the interstate. On the busiest travel day of the year, Interstate 10 was totally shut down in both directions for five hours. The westbound lanes were opened to traffic after five hours and the eastbound lanes remained closed for over eight hours, as officers continued to conduct their investigation and clean up the massive destruction.
These multi-vehicle chain reaction accidents serve as a reminder of the tragedy that can occur in an instant on an interstate, when something goes wrong. Chain reaction accidents on interstate highways usually result in catastrophic injuries and fatalities. Cars, pickups, SUVs, motorcycles and 18 wheelers all traveling at 65 to 75 miles per hour have a split second to react and no place to go. Vehicles are crushed and torn apart by 80,000 pound 18 wheelers which cannot be stopped by even the most experienced driver.
If you or family members have been involved in a multi-vehicle chain reaction accident you need to seek the advice of an experienced personal injury attorney with a proven track record. These accidents are very complicated due to the facts and the multiple insurance companies involved. Each trucking company will have their representatives at the scene immediately, trying to put liability on someone else. Insurance companies will be pointing the finger at each other.