Granite City accident caused injuries, suit claims

A Granite City man says he sustained neck and back injuries after a driver rear-ended him while he sat in traffic.

Robert L. Hutson filed a lawsuit Dec. 29 in Madison County Circuit Court against Sampok P. Rippee.

Hutson claims he sat at a complete stop in the northbound lanes of Maryville Road at its intersection with Morrison Road in Granite City on Dec. 31, 2007, at about 1:40 p.m. and waited for the next opportunity to advance to an intersection controlled by a stop sign. In front of him, a vehicle driven by Stanley J. Sak Jr. also waited to clear the intersection.

Suddenly, Rippee failed to stop for Hutson and crashed into the rear of his vehicle, according to the complaint.

Because of the accident, Hutson incurred medical costs, suffered great pain and mental anguish, lost income and has been unable to attend to his normal life duties, the suit states.

He blames Rippee for failing to keep a proper lookout, for failing to look and see visible things, for failing to keep her vehicle under control, for failing to drive at a proper speed, for failing to use every precaution to avoid a collision and for failing to decrease her speed to avoid a collision. In addition, Rippee failed to obey the instructions of a traffic control device and followed a vehicle too closely, the complaint says.

Hutson seeks a judgment of more than $50,000, plus costs.

Keith Short and Noel L. Smith Jr. of Shiloh will be representing him.

Madison County Circuit Court case number: 09-L-1407.