10-year old Pontiac Boy Killed Riding Bike with Family

10-year-old Bryan Baker of Pontiac, Illinois was killed Wednesday after being struck by a pickup truck just outside of Pontiac. Pontiac is located in Livingston County where it is the county seat. According to reports, the collision occurred while Bryan was riding his bicycle with his family while riding northbound on Livingston County Road. Bryan was struck by a pickup truck travelling eastbound as he road across Illinois 116. Images of this intersection appear to show stop signs for traffic on Livingston County Road but no traffic control signals for traffic on Illinois 116.

This collision remains under investigation with the Livingston County coroner and the Illinois State Police. Pontiac is the location of another recent motor vehicle vs. bicycle collision that involved an Illinois Secretary of State van and a bicyclist. As an Illinois Bicycle Attorney, I have unfortunately seen many collisions such as this. The liability in these cases is often unclear and require extensive investigation and analysis of both the law and the physical evidence. If you have any questions regarding this post or an issue involving Illinois personal injury law, please contact Illinois Bicycle Attorney Mike Keating at 312-208-7702 or MKeating@KeatingLegal.com. All initial consultations are confidential and free.

Source: Rural Pontiac boy struck, killed on bike

Gibson City Woman Killed While Delivering Newspapers on Her Bicycle

55-year-old Jeanne C. DeWall was struck and killed Monday morning while delivering newspapers on her bicycle. Ms. DeWall was riding east on Illinois Road 9 at its intersection with County Road 900 East when she was struck by a car travelling in the same direction. The collision occurred at 6:09 a.m. The driver of the vehicle said that he did not see the bicyclist and was unable to avoid hitting the bike. The Ford County Coroner speculated that the driver may not have been able to see the rear reflector on the bike because of the newspapers on the bike's rack. The coroner further speculated that the driver may have been blinded by the traffic lights from oncoming traffic.

Bicycles are permitted users of the roadway. The coroner did not provide any insights as to why the driver of the vehicle didn't see the bicycle at all until impact and from the quotes it appears that the coroner does not place any blame on the motorist. Motorists have a duty to keep a proper lookout and to travel at a speed that allows them to slow or stop to avoid a collision. That did not happen in this instance. This sounds like an extremely sad and unfortunate incident for all involved. If you have any questions regarding this post or an issue involving Illinois personal injury law, please contact Illinois Bicycle Attorney Mike Keating at 312-208-7702 or MKeating@KeatingLegal.com. All initial consultations are confidential and free.

Victim in fatal collision identified | News-Gazette.com

Secretary of State Van Strikes Bicyclist in Pontiac, Illinois

News outlets are reporting that a van owned by the Illinois Secretary of State has struck a bicyclist near a gas station at Reynolds and Ladd Streets in Pontiac, Illinois. Further details were not released. Photos from the news source show ambulance personnel tending to a person next to a blue mountain bike.

Cases against the State of Illinois are often complicated because there is only a 1-year statute of limitations and the claim may have to be brought in the Illinois Court of Claims, a special court for claims against the State of Illinois. Typically claims not involving the Court of Claims in Pontiac would be brought in the local state circuit court. Pontiac is the county seat of Livingston County and is a county in which I am familiar. If you have any questions regarding this post or an issue involving Illinois personal injury law, please contact Illinois Bicycle Attorney Mike Keating at 312-208-7702 or MKeating@KeatingLegal.com. All initial consultations are confidential and free.

Claim Settled for Doctor Injured on Lakefront Bike Path

A claim for a Chicago doctor who suffered a fractured collarbone on Chicago's lakefront bike path was successfully resolved outside of court by Attorney Mike Keating. The case stemmed from a bicycle vs. bicycle collision that occurred when another bicyclist "cut-off" the doctor and knocked the front wheel of the doctor's bicycle.

This collision caused the doctor to lose control of his bicycle and fall forward on the the hard lakefront path.  As is often the case when a person falls off of their bicycle they instinctively put out their hands to protect their head. The force from this impact typically results in a broken clavicle, commonly known as the collarbone. This sequence of events is what is commonly referred to as the "mechanism of injury"

The insurance company for the bicyclist who caused this collision originally denied the claim. The insurance company's argument was that the doctor should have been paying closer attention and avoided the collision. However, the insurance adjuster was uneducated in bicycle law and the common practices among bicyclists in Chicago. Attorney Mike Keating was able to document that ordinary care for a bicyclist on Chicago's lakefront path is to call out "on your left" prior to passing and to only pass when it is completely safe to do so. Since the bicyclist did not use ordinary care in the use of their bicycle, under Illinois law he was negligent. Once the insurance company was convinced that their insured was at fault and could not avoid these facts at trial, they then entered into substantive negotiations to avoid a lawsuit.

If you have any questions regarding this post or an issue involving Illinois personal injury law, please contact the Illinois Bicycle Attorney Mike Keating at 312-208-7702 or MKeating@KeatingLegal.com. All initial consultations are confidential and free.

Lincoln Park Bicyclist Critically Injured

The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that a bicyclist was critically injured while riding in the 2600 block of North Lincoln in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. The bicyclist was taken to Illinois Masonic Hospital. Further details were not reported. However, images of this block of North Lincoln clearly show that there are bike lanes on this block. Bike lanes serve two primary purposes: to allow bike riders to understand what part of the street is "theirs" and to serve as warning to motorist that this is an area of the roadway for bicyclists only.

Attorney Michael Keating has represented many bicyclists in actions throughout Illinois. If you have questions regarding bicycle law or personal injury law please feel free to contact Illinois Bicycle Lawyer Mike Keating at MKeating@KeatingLegal.com or 312-208-7702.

South Side Bicyclist Killed in Hit-And-Run

Once again a Chicago-area bicyclist was killed in a hit-and-run. Last Thursday 49-year old Greg Buckner was killed while riding his bike home on Chicago's South Side. The driver left the scene and Buckner later died of his injuries. Details of the collision were not immediately available. UPDATE: It is now being reported that the police are focusing their search on a Silver or Grey Saturn. It is very troubling to see the number of hit-and-run collisions occur between bicyclists and motorists, especially those that end in a fatality. There is no more unfortunate example of how vulnerable bicyclists are on the roadways and why it is imperative that motorist and bicyclists learn to "Share the Road."

The threat of hit-and-run collisions are also why it is very important to carry sufficient Uninsured Motorist Coverage with your insurance carrier. These insurance policy provisions provide insurance coverage in the event the at fault motorist cannot be located or has no insurance and no assets to provide compensation for a loss.

If you have any questions regarding this post please contact Illinois Bicycle Attorney Mike Keating at 312-208-7702 or MKeating@KeatingLegal.com.

Source: ABC 7 Chicago: Family grieves after man on bike struck, killed

Chicago Ranks High on List for Risk of Collisions

According to a study by Allstate Insurance Company, drivers in Chicago have a high risk of getting in a motor vehicle "accident." I put "accident" in quotes because there are very few true "accident." I prefer the term "collision" because two objects (trucks, cars, buses, bikes, pedestrians, etc.) usually collide when one of the objects isn't paying attention or breaks one of the Rules of the Road.


According to the study, Chicago ranked 167th in safety and the average Chicago driver will have an auto collision every 7.6 years. Chicago drivers are at a higher risk than in Houston, New York and Atlanta, but better than Dallas and Los Angeles. The highest risk city is Washington, D.C. where the average driver has a crash every 5.1 years. Note that the cities with the highest risk have the same thing in common: density. Meaning there are a lot of people operating in not a lot of space. I don't know that Allstate needed a study to know that busy cities are higher risk for collisions.


Source: Chicago listed as easy place for car accidents :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Transportation