Driver Found Guilty of Hitting Boy Left in Vegetative State

 Posted on November 28, 2012 in Personal Injury

A driver who hit a Downer’s Grove boy riding his bicycle was ordered to pay a $1500 fine and sentenced to community service. Fourteen year old Hunter Himes was crossing his bike at a crosswalk Beller Street in Darien when Timothy Hagen, 40, of Darien, was turning right onto Lemont Street, from Bellor. He struck the boy with his SUV, pinning him under the vehicle.

According to reports at the time of the accident, firefighters at the scene had to extract the victim by lifting the car off his lower body with two high-pressure air bags placed under the front passenger side. Paramedics then performed advanced life-support on the boy. The brain injuries he received from having his head slammed into the pavement have left him in a persistent vegetative state. His parents have recently put him in hospice after learning the diagnosis is he will never recover.

A report in the Darien Patch quotes Hagen’s attorney as claiming that the young boy ran into Hagen’s SUV while Hagen was waiting to make that right hand turn. Hagen testified that he was waiting at a stop sign, but didn’t see any pedestrians. He then claims he pulled up a little further, stopped again, and then after about 45 seconds, felt a bump so he released his brake and moved forward two feet. However, a detective testified that an accident reconstruction team determined that the victim was in front of the SUV when he was hit.

The judge in the case found the detective’s testimony credible but questioned the reliability of the defendant’s testimony. He found him guilty of the charges pending, failure to yield to a pedestrian.

Although the driver was already found guilty in a criminal court, he may still be found liable for damages in a civil court. If you or someone in your family has been seriously hurt in a car accident, consult a qualified Illinois personal injury attorney to find out what compensation you may be entitled to.