Distracted Pedestrian Accident, Teen Struck by Semi Near Chicago School

On this blog, I have talked at length about the different types of "distracted driving" which lead to injury collisions as well as fatal crashes. But I would be careless if I didn't point out that pedestrians sometimes become victims of auto-pedestrian accidents because they are not paying attention to their surroundings.

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In fact, a new study published in early January shows that U.S. pedestrian fatalities almost tripled between 2004 and 2011 among individuals who were walking while wearing headphones that were connected to mp3 players and other digital music devices. The report by a Baltimore researcher, which appeared in a British journal, also indicated that two out of every three of these fatalities were males under 30 years old.

An incident Tuesday morning in Chicago served as a scary illustration of this new pedestrian accidents trend. About 11:15am, an 18-year old male student at Curie High School was leaving campus to get lunch and was reportedly wearing headphones and not paying attention while walking. He tried to cross Archer Avenue near the intersection of Pulaski Road when he was struck by an 18-wheeler that was trying to turn left. The impact caused the young man to be dragged underneath the semi. The teen was transported in serious-to-critical condition to Mount Sinai Hospital, although his injuries don't appear to be life-threatening.

Police said that the driver of the tractor-trailer was not cited in connection with the truck-pedestrian accident. However, just because the driver was not criminally charged does not mean that any personal injury lawsuit filed by the victim would not be successful. The truck driver (and the company who employs him) might be held partially responsible for the teenager's injuries depending on the precise circumstances of the incident. If legal action is taken, there is a high probability that the plaintiff and defendant(s) would come to an out-of-court settlement which could help the victim obtain some reimbursement for his medical expenses.