A man has filed suit against a driver who he says hit him while exiting a parking lot nearly eight years ago.
Zachary A. Choate claims he was riding in a car driven by Kathleen C. Lindsay on July 25, 2002, when the incident occurred.
According to the lawsuit filed Jan. 21 in St. Clair County Circuit Court, Lindsay was driving east on Lincoln Trail Highway West at its intersection with Illinois Route 159 in St. Clair County when defendant Dale Fietsam attempted to enter the highway from a shopping center parking lot located near the Steak and Shake restaurant.
"That at said time and place, Defendant, Dale Fietsam, so negligently and carelessly operated his vehicle so as to cause the same to travel into the path of and collide with the vehicle in which Plaintiff was a passenger, thereby causing serious personal injuries to Plaintiff," the suit states.
At the time of the accident, Choate was 12 years old, the complaint says.
In addition to his injuries, Choate says he suffered extreme pain, lost wages, incurred medical costs, became disabled and lost his normal enjoyment of life because of the collision.
Fietsam negligently failed to keep his vehicle under control, failed to keep a proper lookout and failed to yield the right-of-way, according to the complaint.
In his complaint, Choate is seeking a judgment of more than $50,000.
He will be represented by John M. Smith of Callis, Papa, Hale, Szewczyk and Danzinger in Granite City.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number: 10-L-27.
Man files suit involving accident when he was 12
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