4 Kids, Driver Hurt in SUV Rollover Accident On I-94

In most cases, only the drivers of the vehicles who were directly involved in a collision can be blamed for causing the accident. But in a few cases, a vehicle that did not crash at all could be found partially or wholly liable for a given wreck.

That may be the case in a rollover accident which occurred last weekend on I-94 in Chicago less than a mile away from DePaul University. A 1996 Chevy Blazer was traveling south on the Kennedy Expressway near Armitage Avenue around 9:15am Sunday morning. According to a preliminary investigation, the SUV was cut off by another vehicle and the female driver of the Blazer swerved to avoid a collision. As a result, the SUV flipped over several times and wound up on its roof. The driver and the four children inside the SUV were all taken to area hospitals in serious to critical condition and their parents were notified about what had happened. All of the Blazer's occupants were wearing their seat belts and were not ejected from the vehicle.

The other vehicle did not stop, and police do not have any details about its appearance. But if authorities do locate that other vehicle, then the crash victims and their families could file personal injury lawsuits against its driver. The plaintiffs could claim that even though the offending vehicle did not collide with or even touch the SUV, the actions of its driver contributed to the resulting rollover accident to some degree.

However, there's no guarantee that these lawsuits would succeed. That's because there may not be any hard evidence to demonstrate that the other vehicle cut off the Blazer and caused the SUV to roll over. The only sources of potential evidence would be statements from witnesses who saw the crash, an admission of guilt from the driver of the vehicle that drove away, or video footage from a freeway camera which may have recorded the accident taking place.