Greyhound Lines and several truck companies are being sued in Madison County Circuit Court by injured passengers and the families of deceased passengers following a fatal crash that occurred on an interstate in Highland on July 12.
According to the lawsuits, a Greyhound bus driven by Raymond C. Paradise was traveling westbound on Interstate 70 when Paradise took an exit ramp to the Silver Lake I-70 rest area in Highland. At 1:54 a.m., the bus collided with three commercial tractor trailers parked along the right shoulder lane of the exit ramp near the rest area, killing three passengers and injuring several others.
East Alton attorney Edward Unsell of The Unsell Law Firm filed the first lawsuit on July 27 on behalf of Chicago resident Maria Gonzalez (23-LA-1061), who was injured in the collision.
Gonzalez’s four-count lawsuit was filed against Greyhound, Paradise, MZ Cargo Inc. and truck driver Abdikadir A. Ibrahim.
“The collision caused plaintiff to be violently thrown about the interior of the bus upon impact wherein she struck various parts of the interior of the bus and/or other passengers, proximately causing various and diverse and permanent injuries to plaintiff’s ribs, neck and back,” the suit states.
Most recently, a 33-count lawsuit was filed on July 31 by attorneys Todd Strong and Ryan Mekamp of Strong Law Offices in Peoria on behalf of Terry Feero, also known as Terry Donovan, who is the wife of deceased passenger Bradley Donovan.
According to his obituary, Bradley Donovan, 47, died at 3:20 a.m. on July 12 following the collision.
“Bradley enjoyed truck driving, taking care of his dogs, and liked watching dirt track car racing,” his obituary states.
Donovan’s lawsuit was filed against Paradise, Greyhound Lines, Americanos U.S.A. LLC, Ibrahim, Ryder Truck Rental Inc., Iloca Services Inc., MZ Cargo, Everett Jennings Sharp, Richard Inc., Richard Wolfe Trucking Inc., David Scott Cherno and Robert Branum Trucking LP.
Both lawsuits allege the bus driver operated the bus in a careless manner, negligently operated at a speed that was greater than reasonable given the conditions and failed to keep a lookout for other traffic along the interstate rest area.
The suits allege the truck drivers negligently parked the tractor trailers on the shoulder lane of the exit ramp and failed to illuminate the semi trucks to provide warning to others along the roadway of the presence of the vehicles.
The Belleville law firm Hipskind & McAninch LLC has also been retained to represent victims of the Highland collision. Their lawsuit has not yet been filed.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic events that unfolded in the Greyhound bus collision and our team is fully committed to helping seek justice for this incident,” said John Hipskind.
“Our hearts go out to the victims and their families who have suffered immeasurable loss and endured tremendous pain. We will work tirelessly to obtain the compensation our clients and their families deserve,” added Brady McAninch.
Hipskind and McAninch said they seek to ensure such devastating incidents are not repeated.