Early on a warm summer morning, a 31 year old Chicago man was riding his dream bicycle, barely a week old, on his way to work when he was hit by a left turning SUV which did not see him. At around 6:30 a.m. on August 7th the bicyclist was riding west bound on Howard Street on his way to work. The driver was traveling east bound on the same road when they both entered the intersection with Dodge Avenue in Evanston. The cyclist should have been easily seen by the driver as they both traveled through the middle of the intersection. However, the driver of the 2004 Chevy Blazer claims that the morning sun partially blinded him as he began to turn left onto north bound Dodge. When he did he crashed hard into the left side of the bicyclist. The impact was so heavy that the rider's left hip left an imprint in the middle of the SUV's front grill. Unable to walk following the crash, the cyclist was taken to Resurrection St. Francis Hospital later than morning.
The weight of the impact also demolished the man's brand new, custom built Rivendell bicycle, just over a week old. The bike has been assessed as a total loss, it's steel frame and many of its components badly damaged. It is estimated as a $4,000 loss.
Bicyclists in Illinois traveling through an intersection have the legal right of way over left turning vehicles. Also, motorists whose vision is obscured for any reason are required to act with caution when turning so as to avoid colliding with a bike, pedestrian or another vehicle.
My law firm has been retained to represent the bicyclist.
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