Driver distracted by cell phone blamed in accident

A Belleville woman says she was rear-ended by a man who was distracted by his cell phone while driving in Shiloh.

Shanna Knepper filed a lawsuit May 2 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against Jacob Grapperhaus.

Knepper says she was driving her Honda Civic east on Thouvenot Road in May 2010. She says traffic in front of her came to a stop, so she did too. Knepper says Grapperhaus drove his Ford Ranger up behind her but was looking down at his cell phone and failed to notice the traffic had stopped.

Knepper claims Grapperhaus crashed into the back of her, pushing the Civic into the vehicle stopped in front of it.

Knepper says she was seriously hurt in the chain-reaction crash and is asking for more than $50,000 in damages for medical bills, lost wages and court fees.

She is represented by attorney Michael L. McGlynn of Belleville.

St. Clair County Circuit Court Case No. 12-L-228