Crash That Killed Three Family Members Leads To Lawsuit
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A lawsuit has been filed against a south suburban company, accusing the driver of one of its street sweepers of a causing a crash that killed three members of a Tinley Park family.
For Ashraf Salalah, it has been an agonizing two weeks. He lost his father-in-law, mother-in-law and sister in-law in the horrific crash at 171st Street and LaGrange in Orland Park.
"It's not about money," he said. "Whatever they give us, it's not enough. It's not about money. They could take everything and just bring me Samah for one week. Or one day."
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The crash killed 62-year-old Nazmi Deis, his 49-year-old wife, Walfieh, and their 15-year-old daughter, Samah, a high school honor student. Police say the driver of a private street sweeper, ran a red light.
"This a 100 percent fault of the street sweeper," said Mark Horowitz, an attorney representing the family.
Late last week, Horowitz filed suit against the driver's company, supported, he says, by the police investigation and an eyewitness: a truck driver who saw the accident.
"He has told the Orland police [the driver] sped past him at a high rate of speed and that his brake lights were never touched until after the moment of impact," Horowitz said.
The couple's older daughter was driving the family car at the time of the crash.
She survived.
The lawsuit has been filed against Midwest Maintenance Systems, which has contracts to clean parking lots and building exteriors for big stores.
According to state records, the driver has one violation on his record: a speeding violation in December of last year.
Family member Handi Deis made a very sad journey to the Chicago area from Israel, after telling relatives there of the tragedy.
"They're living in ... a nightmare, I would say," Handi Deis said.
WBBM Newsradio has not been able to reach the company for comment on the lawsuit.
