Stockton, IL — A man from Pecatonica, Michael Durand, was hospitalized earlier this week outside of Stockton after his Chevy SUV was rear-ended by a semi-truck in an accident on U.S. 20. This happened on Tuesday afternoon, October 6, 2015 at about 12:30 p.m.
Police said that Durand had slowed down on U.S. 20 for a vehicle that was turning left in front of him when he was hit from behind by a semi-truck.
This was at the intersection of U.S. 20 and Canyon Park Road, the news reports stated.
Amy Shockey had been driving a Honda west along U.S. 20 that afternoon while Michael Durand drove a Chevy Traverse SUV behind her. Behind the group was a semi-truck, driven by Kurt Wels of Iowa.
As Shockey approached Canyon Park Road, she slowed down to make a left turn, but didn’t use her signal.
Durand slowed down to avoid hitting her, but Kurt Wels wasn’t able to slow his semi-truck down in time and he crashed into he back of Durand’s SUV, pushing it into Amy Shockey’s Honda.
The accident left Durand with moderate injuries, though Shockey and Wels weren’t harmed. Police later said that Shockey was cited for not using her turn signal.
Map of the Accident
View from the Road
Commentary
Folks, this is a good example of why the police report isn’t always a good source by which to gauge who’s fault an accident is — it’s better to have an independent investigation done. In this wreck, the police cited one of the drivers for not using her turn signal at the time, when it seems to me that the semi-truck driver ought to be cited for not paying attention to traffic in front of him. I’m sure he didn’t mean to cause any accident that day, but people could have been killed or very seriously hurt.
There’s a difference between being negligent and getting a traffic ticket, but you’re not going to know that from looking at a police report. While I have the utmost respect for our law enforcement, their primary goal is not to investigate your accident to determine who should bear liability for the damage and injuries inflicted — that’s up to you.
Obviously, I don’t have all the information here, but it sure seems like the semi-truck driver was the one who messed up and caused the wreck. The question is, would a jury feel the same way? If this truck driver and the company he was working for think they can pass the blame for this wreck, then you can be sure they will try their hardest to do so. In cases like this, where they already have an easy target to pin the blame on, that makes their job that much easier. However, like I was saying earlier, having an independent investigation done to get all the evidence and facts can be really helpful because you’re not solely relying on the police report to get all the facts right.
— Grossman Law Offices