Oct 6, 2008 12:39 pm US/Central
City To Pay $700K In Fire Vehicle Traffic Death
Carrie Boston Was Struck, Killed By Fire Department SUV
CHICAGO (STNG) ―
The family of a 69-year-old woman who was run over in a mid-block crosswalk and killed by a Chicago firefighter driving too fast for the rainy conditions would get $700,000 under a settlement expected to be advanced later Monday by a City Council committee.
Carrie Boston was crossing South Chicago Avenue -- heading for a pharmacy across from the senior citizen building where she lived -- when she was hit by a 2-day-old Ford Expedition carrying the Fire Department's 6th District deputy chief and his driver.
The accident occurred around 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 16, 2006, in the 9200 block of South Chicago. Boston was dressed in dark clothing and carrying a black umbrella when she stepped off the center median and into the path of the SUV, which was not on an emergency call and did not have its emergency lights or sirens activated.
The crosswalk has blinking yellow lights, but they were not working. The solar-powered lights are designed to work from 9 to 11 a.m. and 2 to 4:30 p.m.
"The city created a dangerous mid-block crosswalk, without proper protection for pedestrians," said Richard J. Grossman, an attorney for Boston's family.
"They feel as if they're being protected when they're not. They're at the mercy of drivers who don't have to stop.
"Either they shouldn't have put it there in the first place, or they should have installed a traffic-control device that allows seniors who want to cross to push a button to activate the traffic signal." Boston's daughter Belinda Jackson said she's bothered that the same unsafe condition exists today.
City traffic engineers examined the crosswalk after the accident for possible safety improvements, including additional signs, improved pavement markings, hard-wire warning lights and a traffic light, in addition to the one half a block away. But no changes were made.
"I'm athletic. I could probably run and get across the street," Jackson said. "But, if you're not running across, you're stuck in the middle. My mother couldn't run. Most of the seniors in that building can't run, either.
Most of 'em walk pretty slow. A lot of them are in wheelchairs.
"Maybe somebody will see this [settlement] and try to do something about it.
Sometimes, a person might have to lose their life for something to happen.
Unfortunately, it had to be my mother."
Fire Department officials have said the SUV was driving "at or below" the posted speed limit of 30 miles an hour when Boston "stepped right into the path" of the vehicle.
James Considine, a 25-year-veteran firefighter, had a clean driving record and passed a Breathalyzer test after the accident.
Grossman noted that two eyewitnesses testified that Boston's body "flew in the air 25 feet," which he said backs his claim that Considine was driving too fast for the slick conditions, even if he wasn't speeding.
"The driver clocked her and sent her flying through the air," Grossman said.
"He has no excuse for why he didn't see her if he was paying attention and looking properly. There are times when driving within the speed limit is too fast because of the conditions."
(Source: Sun-Times News Group Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2008. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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