Chicago Bus Accident Injures Man Near Humboldt Park

The Chicago Transit Authority operates hundreds of buses each day. For the most part, these buses transport passengers all around Chicago without incident. But every now and then, a Chicago bus accident takes place - and the victims sometimes wind up in the hospital.

One of these incidents occurred about 10:45pm on Thursday night. A CTA bus was traveling east on Division Street about a mile west of Humboldt Park. At the intersection with Kedvale Avenue, a man was trying to cross Division when he was struck by the bus. The victim, whose age was not released, was transported to Stroger Hospital in serious-to-critical condition. Witnesses said that the victim appeared to be intoxicated, but authorities have not been able to determine whether that was true.

At the spot of the accident, there are no stoplights or marked crosswalks on Division Street. There is a streetlight on every corner of that intersection, but darkness still may have played a role in the bus-pedestrian collision. Because a Family Dollar store sits across Division Street from a residential neighborhood, it is logical to conclude that more pedestrians cross the street at that location than at a typical Chicago intersection.

The injured pedestrian may choose to file a personal injury lawsuit against the CTA and/or the bus driver, but it may be a difficult case to win. The bus had the right of way because of a stop sign that faces Kevdale. And if authorities do discover that the man was intoxicated, the defendant(s) could point to that fact as evidence that the pedestrian exercised poor judgment at the time of the incident.

Be that as it may, it is not uncommon for the CTA to seek out-of-court settlements in instances where a person is injured in a Chicago bus accident. So there is a strong possibility that any lawsuit pertaining to this accident will never see the inside of a courtroom.