Last year on February 26th, an eighth grader named Hunter Himes was biking home down the sidewalk of Lemont Road in Darien. At the same time, 39 year old Timothy Hagan was driving his two sons to dinner and was taking a turn onto Lemont Road from Beller Drive. As he made the turn, he hit the young boy on his bike and trapped him under the car.
The car had to be lifted using two high pressure air bags. Once the medical staff was able to extract the boy from under the car, he was unconscious and suffered serious injuries from the car accident. When he was examined at a local hospital, the doctors found that he had sustained major brain damage and had lost nearly all of the movement in his body. After multiple surgeries, he was sent home confined to a wheelchair.
In November of 2012, Hagan was found guilty of failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. Associate Judge Robert E. Douglas sentenced Hagan to 300 hours of community service and compelled to pay a fine of $1,500. Hunter’s parents, Terra and Mark Ihde pleaded with Douglas to levy the harshest sentence possible because they knew their son wouldn’t survive the injuries from the accident.
They were right because Hunter passed on Sunday January 13th 2013 around 2:15 am in the morning. Associate Judge Douglas said after sentencing. "I know there's no penalty that's stiff enough or that will bring Hunter back. I'm giving everything I can give in this case, and I hope you can appreciate that that's all I can do."
Although the criminal case was sentenced, the Ihde family had an opportunity to exact more justice from Hagan by bringing a wrongful death lawsuit against him. Such a lawsuit can seek damages from a negligent party to pay for doctor’s bills and compensate for mental anguish. Contact a personal injury attorney in Hinsdale to discuss the particulars of your case.