Lawsuit Filed Against City And City Worker For Gold Coast Accident
UPDATED 05/23/11 8:14 p.m.
CHICAGO (WBBM) -- The nanny and the parents of the toddler injured in the gold coast accident have already filed suit against the truck driver and the city. WBBM's Lisa Fielding has the story.
Chicago Streets & Sanitation worker, Dwight Washington, 61, is charged with four counts of felony aggravated DUI, another two counts of misdemeanor DUI, transporting open alcohol, failure to reduce speed and negligent driving. Police said they found half a bottle of brandy in the truck.
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"I don't have an agenda here. I just want to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else," said Hugh Jones.
Jones is the father of 20-month old Tyler Jones who was injured after a Streets & Sanitation worker slammed into a group of pedestrians near Rush, Cedar and States Streets Saturday afternoon.
Jones says he was horrified to learn that the city driver who allegedly hit and injured his daughter and her nanny was legally drunk at the time of the accident.
"I think everything changed when I heard the alleged facts. I suspect I'm like most people. When the facts start presenting themselves, as a human, you change. There are accidents. Some are preventable and some are not. This was preventable."
Jones has filed a lawsuit on behalf of his daughter Tyler and his nanny Jen Anton. Attorney Dan Kotin says the suit includes counts against the city for negligent supervision of their employee.
"This is a case where you have a city worker, driving a city vehicle, in broad daylight in the heart of Chicago on a beautiful Saturday and he's got a .183 blood alcohol level. Somebody's gotta know about that, right? And if they don't someone's purposely looking the other way and so it's negligent supervision count because it shouldn't be allowed to happen but it did."
Jones called Anton a hero.
"I think Jen Anton is an angel on this earth." Anton pushed 20-month old Tyler out of the path of a direct impact. She suffered severe fractures to her pelvis, hips, and legs and has undergone surgery. The toddler's injuries were less severe and she's already been released from the hospital.
The lawsuit is seeking personal injury damages exceeding $50,000 on each count.
Click HERE to read more about the criminal charges against the driver.
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