WOMAN
SUES RAILROAD AFTER MARCH ACCIDENT
(As reported in the Bloomingdale Press)
By Sue Doyle
Press Publications
Nearly
one year ago, blustering snow in the middle of March changed
one Carol Stream' woman's life forever due to injuries sustained
when she and the woman she was traveling with collided with
a train while crossing railroad tracks in unincorporated
Bloomingdale.
Hanifa
Ajmeri and family are now in the process of suing Illinois
Central Railroad Co. for compensatory damages in connection
with the collision.
Ajmeri,
then 42, was critically injured March 9, 1998, when the
1985 Chevrolet Nova driven by her friend collided with a
freight train as the car crossed the Illinois Central Railroad
crossing located on Schmale Road, just south of Army Trail
Road near Stratford Square Mall in unincorporated Bloomingdale.
According
to reports from the DuPage County Sheriff's office, witnesses
stated at the scene that the rail crossing gate had been
broken off by a previous motorist, and the signals were
obscured due to blowing snow when the car Ajmeri was riding
in approached the rail crossing.
As
the car made its way through the crossing, the vehicle struck
the left side of the freight train, throwing both women
from the vehicle. Both were taken to Glen Oaks Hospital
in Glendale Heights before being airlifted to Loyola University
Medical Center in Maywood, where both underwent treatment.
According
to Ajmeri's attorney, Tim Cavanagh of Lloyd & Cavanagh
in Chicago, she has gone through six operations for numerous
injuries including pelvic fractures; a closed head fracture;
femoral head fracture; splenic laceration; bladder rupture;
left hip dislocation; pubic fracture; acctabular fracture;
transverse process fractures and other internal injuries.
Ajmeri
was released from the hospital on April 8. Currently, she
attends physical therapy sessions several times a week,
according to Cavanagh, and requires the use of a wheelchair
or cane due to the leg injuries. The family filed a lawsuit
against the Illinois Central Railroad Co. March 25 and appeared
in court on January 26, 1999.
A
trail date has been set for February 14, 2000. Cavanagh
said the family is not asking for a designated amount of
money, rather he said, the family will allow the jury to
decide a fair amount.
"We
have worked diligently over the last 11 months to accumulate
evidence to present to the jury," Cavanagh said. "Ajmeri
has incurred over $420,000 in medical bills and will live
with her disabilities for the remainder of her life."
Both
parties have tried to settle the matter out of court, but
without success, according to Cavanagh. Representatives
for Illinois Central were not reached for comment as of
the press time.
