Young Pedestrian in Chicago Killed While Walking To Halloween Party

For many children, the Halloween season is one of the most joyful and carefree times of the year. Kids can put on their favorite costumes, go to parties with their friends, and get oodles of candy and other treats. These youngsters shouldn't have to worry about bad things happening to them.

But this year's holiday was a tragic one for the family of a six-year old girl in Chicago. The youngster was struck by a car and killed while walking to a Halloween party over the weekend.

On Saturday evening just before 8:30pm, the girl and a teenage family friend were walking in the city's South Side. They tried to cross the street at the intersection of Loomis Boulevard and 70th Street when a 36-year old man who was driving his car on Loomis struck the two girls. The 16-year old suffered a broken arm, but the six-year old succumbed to her injuries about two hours later at Christ Advocate Medical Center.

Chicago Police cited the man for several crimes, including failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk resulting in death and personal injury and driving too fast for conditions. The young girl and the teenager were reportedly heading for a Halloween party being held a block away when the accident occurred. The youngster had just started first grade at Brownell Elementary School.

In situations like these, the parents of the young girl often choose to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the driver of the car that struck her. Such a suit would enable them to collect reimbursement for hospital and burial expenses, damages for emotional anguish, and lost future wages that the victim would have earned in her lifetime. In the majority of such lawsuits, a settlement is reached between the plaintiffs and the defendant - and the case never goes to trial.