Truck driver involved in I-70 accident claims other driver violated FMSCA

A man has filed suit against the allegedly fatigued truck driver who he blames for colliding with his vehicle, pushing it into another automobile that had run into a concrete median.

Kenneth C. Wallace claims he was driving a 2007 International trailer east on Interstate 70 near mile post 16 in Pin Oak Township on Dec. 15, 2010, when he stopped upon spotting a stalled vehicle in the middle of the road. Immediately before Wallace had appeared on the scene, defendant Bethany N. Kuehl, who was driving a 2003 Dodge Neon owned by defendant Rockie Miller, had struck a concrete median and come to a stop in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 70, according to the complaint filed Nov. 20 in Madison County Circuit Court.

Wallace will be represented by David A. Axelrod and Associates in Chicago and by Moore Law Group.

Although Wallace was able to avoid striking the Neon, defendant Jasvir Singh Badwal, who was driving a vehicle for defendant Roadstar Carrier, failed to notice Wallace’s stopped vehicle and lost control of his vehicle, which began to slide on the icy road, the suit states.

“Roadstar’s commercial vehicle collided with the rear of plaintiff’s vehicle causing plaintiff’s vehicle to strike Miller’s vehicle,” the suit states.

At the time of the collision, Badwal had been driving for more than 14 hours. The maximum number of hours the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration allows freight carriers to drive at once is 11, the complaint says. In addition, Badwal had not been afforded the 10 hours between shifts the FMCSA requires, Wallace claims.

In turn, because of the collision, Wallace suffered head, neck, shoulder, left arm, low back, tailbone, bilateral hip, groin, lower left leg and ankle pain, according to the complaint. He also suffered mental pain and anguish, was prevented from attending to his normal affairs, incurred medical costs and became permanently disabled, the suit states.

In his complaint, Wallace partially blames Badwal for causing the collision, saying he negligently drove too fast, followed Wallace’s vehicle too closely, drove without regard for the safety of others on the road, failed to use proper visual search methods, failed to utilize proper speed management and drove in a fatigued condition, among other negligent acts.

He also names Roadstar as a defendant, saying the company negligently entrusted a vehicle to an incompetent driver, violated the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Regulations, violated Illinois motor vehicle statutes, violated its own company policy, allowed Badwal to drive even though it knew he had not been given 10 consecutive hours off, allowed Badwal to continue driving 16 hours after coming on duty and failed to order Badwal to stop driving, among other negligent acts.

Kuehl negligently failed to drive Miller’s vehicle in a reasonable manner, which caused an interruption in the flow of traffic, while Miller entrusted his vehicle to an incompetent driver, the suit states.

Wallace is seeking compensatory damages in excess of the jurisdictional limits of Madison County Circuit Court, plus costs and other relief the court deems just.

Madison County Circuit Court case number: 12-L-1910.