2 Deadly Crashes in North-Central Illinois Friday

The Father's Day weekend was a sad one for some people in north-central Illinois. That's because they were mourning the deaths of their loved ones as a result of two separate motor vehicle collisions that occurred on Friday.

In Lee County, three people were killed and a fourth injured when the car they were riding in was hit by a tractor-trailer. The driver of the semi reportedly ran a stop sign and caused the crash.

And in LaSalle County, the sheriff's office says that a male motorcyclist died in a hospital after being involved in a wreck. A car apparently ran into the motorcyclist, causing him to veer into a different lane where he was hit once again.

There's no word on the identities of the fatal accident victims, what criminal charges have been filed as a result of the incidents, or any other details of the crashes themselves at this time. Both collisions remain under investigation.

But based on the information we know, the blame for both accidents seems to be pretty straightforward. In the Lee County crash, the truck driver appears to be fully responsible for the deaths of the three car victims and the injuries to the fourth. Therefore, the driver of the 18-wheeler (and his or her employer, by extension) may likely be targeted in wrongful death lawsuits by the surviving relatives of the victims; and the injured individual has similarly strong grounds for a personal injury lawsuit against the same defendants.

In the deadly crash which took place in LaSalle County, the driver of the initial vehicle which struck the motorcyclist will probably be held accountable for his death (though the person driving the second vehicle which made contact with the motorcycle may or may not be found partially liable depending on the circumstances). So the motorcyclist's heirs apparently have a very solid wrongful death lawsuit case against the at-fault driver.