Semi-Truck Driver Found Guilty of Causing Three Truck Accident Fatalities
A jury has found 38-year-old trucker Eli German Flores guilty of one count of causing great bodily harm by vehicle and three counts of homicide by vehicle for causing a deadly truck crash on October 28, 2008 that claimed the lives of Jessie Charles, 77, Louise Charles, 74, and Jacob P. Kendrix, 23.
Flores was driving his 18-wheeler truck on I-10 when he struck the Yamaha motorcycle that Kendrick was riding. The 23-year-old motorcyclist was thrown off his bike. Meantime, his motorcycle crashed into a Chevrolet Tahoe, which crashed through a fence, rolling over a number of times before landing on a road. Jessie and Louise Charles died from their injuries. A third passenger, 25-year-old Jessica Bruwer, was transported to a hospital for her extensive injuries. The Tahoe’s driver, 33-year-old LaRhonda Wilkins, sustained shoulder injury and must still undergo physical therapy. Two other passengers, ages 12 and 3, were also in the SUV when the catastrophic truck crash happened.
Flores allegedly told police the next day that he failed to slow at a construction zone and had been driving at 75mph (the speed limit for that portion of I-10 is 65 mph). He testified in court, however, that he was slowing down as he approached the work area. He says he lost sight of both the motorcycle and the SUV.
Investigators did not find truck skid marks on the road, which means that if Flores stepped on the brakes he did not do so hard enough to leave marks.
Illinois Truck Crash Lawsuit
If you were killed in a Cook County truck accident or a truck collision involving a tractor-trailer, an 18-wheeler, a big rig truck, a semi-truck, or another large truck in DuPage County, Will County, or Lake County, please contact Chicago, Illinois truck accident lawyer Steve Malman to schedule your free case evaluation.
California trucker found guilty in fatal 2008 I-10 crash, Las Cruces Sun-News, December 18, 2009
San Diego man charged in Oct. 28 triple fatal on I-10 jailed in Luna County, ABQ Journal
Related Web Resources:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
