EDWARDSVILLE — The passenger in a van hit by a tractor trailer in a fatal November 2017 crash on I-55 is suing the driver, his employers and a construction company.
Maria Vergara filed a complaint on Aug. 14 in Madison County Circuit Court against Mohamed Yussuf Jama, FAF Inc., Forward Air Corporation, Forward Air Solutions Inc. and Keller Construction.
According to the complaint, Jama crashed his tractor trailer into multiple vehicles on Interstate 55 near Hamel, including a passenger van the plaintiff was riding in.
As a result, Madisen N. Bertels, Hailey J. Bertels, Tori R. Carroll and Vivian Vu were killed, and 11 other individuals were injured in the crash, including Vergara.
Three other lawsuits have been filed against Jama on behalf of the decedents.
Jama was charged in April after he turned himself in. He will remain in custody at the Madison County jail in Edwardsville, where he is being held without bond.
In Vergara's complaint, she alleges Jama was speeding and failed to keep a proper lookout while operating the tractor trailer in the course of his employment. Vergara also alleges Keller Construction did not properly warn drivers before an upcoming construction zone.
Vergara requests a trial by jury and seeks damages against the defendants in excess of the minimum jurisdictional limits of the court. She is represented by Robert J. Bingle of Corboy & Demetrio in Chicago and Gregory L. Shevlin of Cook, Bartholomew, Shevlin & Cook in Belleville.
Madison County Circuit Court case number 18-L-1042