On July 9, 2007, Julieanne Kriens was on her way to an internship interview at Rockford College. The 20-year-old from Antioch, Ill. was driving on Route 173, a two-lane highway. Trucks in front of her were stopped in order to make a left-hand turn. Kriens also stopped. Unfortunately, the semi behind her didn’t halt.
Kriens was killed when her car was crushed between two trucks. The truck driver who slammed into Kriens’ vehicle later said he couldn’t stop because he’d been wiping sweat from his brow.
After the accident, Kriens’ mother, Jo Anne, began writing letters to the Illinois Department of Transportation. Noting that the stretch of road where her daughter was killed had many truck entrances, she urged state officials to reduce the speed limit, put up better signs, construct right and left turn lanes and to use traffic signals to slow down traffic.
But IDOT rejected all of the requests except for a traffic signal, the News Sun reports. And the traffic signal was placed on a list of unfunded intersections.
Now, a year after the fatal accident, the Citizens for Safety on the 173 Corridor are holding a “Right to Live” demonstration at the site. The organizers hope that if more people get involved, the state will make safety a higher priority on this deadly stretch of road.
If you have been hurt or a loved one has been injured or killed as a result of a truck driver’s carelessness, contact Carey, Danis & Lowe Missouri/Illinois trucking-accident lawyers online or by calling 877-678-3400.
