MONEE, IL- According to the chicagosuntimes.com, the driver responsible for causing the accident that killed Tommy Stiso, 29, and injured a child is now facing felony charges. The accident occurred in Monee, Illinois at about 3:40 p.m. on May 14, 2018.
The driver facing charges is 45-year-old Michael Rodriguez, who was operating a 2003 Cadillac Escalade on Interstate 57 at the time of the crash. Rodriguez did not reduce his speed when traffic was slowing on the Interstate, and he collided with the back of a Ford. The force of the impact caused the Ford, driven by Stiso, to crash into a tractor-trailer.
A child traveling in Rodriguez’s vehicle was not secured in a safety seat, or any form of child restraints was ejected from the vehicle through the rear passenger window of the Cadillac.
Stiso died at the scene of the crash due to multiple injuries.
The child and Rodriguez were both injured in the collision and were taken to the hospital. Neither suffered injuries that are believed to be life-threatening. The driver of the truck was uninjured.
Rodriguez has now been charged with “failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, failure to secure a child in a proper child restraint system and driving while license revoked.” At a hearing held last Tuesday, Rodriguez’s bond was set at $500,000.
A report published by abcnew.com indicates that unlicensed drivers are involved in one out of five deadly car accidents in the United States. On average, drivers who are not licensed to be on the road cause about 8,400 deaths annually. While researchers did not have an approximation of how many unlicensed drivers there are on the road, they believe that these numbers indicate that there are a disproportionate number of unlicensed drivers involved in fatal collisions.
Call us at 312.422.0500 and schedule an appointment with our experienced fatal car accident lawyers in Chicago, Illinois today. The free consultation is completely confidential and we will discuss your options and formulate a plan to help you obtain the compensation that you deserve.
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