“People walking or standing alongside a road are vulnerable to serious injuries involving cars and other large vehicles,” Crane said. “This accident at a bus stop in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood is a prime example. Seven people were injured in an instant due to a single driver jumping the curb and crashing into them.”
The accident at the bus stop occurred on Sept. 14 shortly after 1 p.m. near the intersection of 47th Street and South King Drive, according to ABC 7 Chicago, one of several news organizations that covered the accident. In the news article, officials told ABC 7 Chicago that “the car crossed two lanes of traffic for unknown reasons before slamming into the shelter.”
Earlier this year, one person was killed and eight people were injured when a CTA bus in Chicago jumped the curb on Michigan Avenue during rush hour and hit two pedestrians and four cars before jumping the curb, according to a Chicago Tribune article about the June 2nd Chicago bus accident.
Accidents involving pedestrians happen far more often than many people might realize. In 2013, a total of 125 people died in pedestrian accidents in Illinois that year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Many of those pedestrian fatalities (53) occurred in Cook County, Illinois.
More needs to be done to protect pedestrians and make people aware of the dangers posed to them, especially in large cities like Chicago, according to Chicago pedestrian accident lawyer Gregory F. Coplan of Coplan & Crane law firm. “Drivers need to slow down in cities like Chicago and take their time so accidents like these involving pedestrians become less common,” Coplan said. “Pedestrians don’t have the same protections as drivers or passengers in a car or truck. That’s why everyone needs to be more aware of them and take their time when traveling on busy roads like Michigan Avenue or South King Drive.”
