Taxi Driver Flees Crash With Chicago Bicyclist, Later Pays

Tilek Tulemyshev in an
undated photo

A taxi driver who fled the scene after striking a Chicago bicyclist from behind in Wicker Park could not escape accountability.  The driver, Tilek Tulemyshev, and the cab company, Best Cab Corp, have paid $300,000 to the injured biker, a 33 year old airline attendant, following a lawsuit filed against them by FK Law.

On September 10, 2011 the female cyclist was riding northbound on North Damen Avenue with her husband and a friend.  When the three reached Damen's intersection with West Webster Avenue they stopped for a red light.  At the same time, Mr. Tulemyshev was stopped along the curb to their right picking up a fare.  When the light turned green the bicyclists began pedaling across the intersection. The taxi also accelerated forward.  Upon reaching the middle of the intersection, Mr. Tulemyshev crashed into the rear of the woman's bike throwing her into the street where he then ran her down. The woman's husband screamed for him to stop.  He did for a moment.  He then threw the taxi into reverse and stomped on the accelerator driving the taxi backwards back into the intersection where he rammed another vehicle.  With the terrified fare still in the cab, Mr. Tulemyshev then put the car in drive and sped east on Webster.  A block or two later he abruptly stopped, let his passenger escape then drove off.

The bicyclist was left with scrapes and bruises over much of her body.  More significantly, she suffered torn cartilage in her left knee requiring surgery.  Her injuries left her unable to work for a significant period of time.  She incurred over $60,000 in medical bills.

Despite undeniable negligence by the driver, he and his attorneys initially refused to compensate our client for the harm he caused.  Instead they asserted that her knee injury was the result of a skiing accident years before the crash.  That earlier incident caused tears to her left anterior cruciate ligament and medial meniscus.  However, for years before the 2011 crash she was symptom free and lived a healthy, active life.  She regularly ran and rode her bicycle without pain.  That changed after being hit by the taxi.  Our challenge was to succinctly demonstrate that the crash was the cause of her ongoing knee problem.  It was complicated.  The first orthopaedic specialist that evaluated her felt that the crash had only resulted in a sprain to the knee.  However, another specialist examined film of her knee and determined that while ACL and meniscus tears preexisted the crash, that at least the injury to her meniscus was exacerbated by the collision and was a very significant factor in her knee problems since.

The evidence regarding her knee injury was solid, but the defense seemed to view it as nuanced. They continued to refused to offer what we and our client felt was reasonable compensation.  Then, two things happened which seemed to tighten the screws.  First, Mr. Tulemyshev, at first cooperative during litigation, disappeared.  Neither his attorneys nor we could locate him.  He never did submit himself for a deposition in the case.  Secondly, we filed and won the right to add a count to the lawsuit seeking punitive damages.  The vast majority of personal injury lawsuits filed in Illinois seek only compensatory damages, that is, money to compensate the victim for the harm caused.  Punitive damages are rarely provided for and are meant to punish a wrongdoer.  The approval of a judge is necessary even to allow a jury to consider providing for punitive damages.  Once we argued for and receive that approval in this case, the defense finally saw the light and did the right thing.

Quick Thinking Chicago Bicyclist Snaps Photo of Vehicle That Hit Him, Helps His Own Case

He thought he got away with it.

When the driver of an Infiniti SUV struck a Chicago bicyclist earlier this year, fracturing his collar bone, he chose to flee.  What he did not count on was the bicyclist, a 35 year old Chicago pastry chef, having the wherewithal to snap a photo of his license plate.  This enabled the police to quickly track down the driver and cite him for failing to exercise due care to avoid hitting a bicyclist.  The cyclist's quick thinking also helped us as his attorneys secure for him a sizable settlement.

The collision occurred at around 7 p.m. on February 12, 2015 on Chicago's northwest side. The bicyclist was riding home from work southbound near 5562 North Lincoln Avenue.  The weather was cold, but dry.  Though the cyclist did not have a headlight on his bike, his helmet had reflective properties and the area was very well lit.  He was riding on the right side of the road.  When he passed in front of a curb cut for the parking lot of a 7-Eleven store, the driver of a 1999 Infiniti QX4, northbound on Lincoln, suddenly made a left turn into the lot.  When he did he smashed into the bicyclist, "t-boning" him.  The driver, who had numerous past moving violations, did not help the badly injured cyclist.  When it became clear that he was about to take off, the cyclist pulled out his smartphone and snapped a photo of the vehicle's license plate.  With the plate number Chicago police officers who arrived at the scene went to work locating the driver.  The bicyclist was loaded into an ambulance and taken to Swedish Covenant Hospital.  He was diagnosed with a right clavicle fracture.

The bicyclist eventually hired our law firm to represent him against the driver.  After several months of work we were able to secure a settlement with the driver's insurer, GEICO, 4 1/2 times greater than his medical bills.

There are a few interesting points here.  Firstly, the importance of riding with a device of some kind that can take pictures, a smartphone, camera or GoPro type device, and using it if something bad happens, cannot be overstated.  Had our client not photographed the vehicle's plate the driver likely would have faced no repercussions for his conduct.  Though there are many video cameras positioned throughout Chicago, most do not reproduce images of sufficient quality to enable the police or us to make out a plate number.  Secondly, if the driver flees and is caught the repercussions will be far greater.  Had the driver stuck around we still would have resolved the case successfully, but GEICO undoubtedly understood that they had to pay more because the driver left the scene.  Thirdly, though all bicyclists are required by Illinois law to ride with at least a front facing headlight at night, not having one does not necessarily preclude recovery.  The crash occurred in a very well lite area and the bicyclist wore a helmet with reflective properties.  Despite his lack of a headlight, the driver should have seen him.