On November 17, 22-year-old James L. Taylor, II, of Marengo, was tuning his MP-3 and ran off Route 20, seriously injuring Don Pilgrim of Garden Prairie.
Taylor was issued a ticket for driving with no insurance, and the Boone County State's Attorney's Office is determining whether any other charges are to be filed. Taylor's first court date on the no-insurance ticket comes up on December 17 at 8:30AM.
Additional tickets here look like a no-brainer to me. The driver was distracted and ran off the left side of the roadway, hitting and nearly killing a man in his own yard. The photo in Tuesday's Northwest Herald showed Pilgrim on a respirator, mentioned both lungs are collapsed and indicated that he may never walk again,
Five days after the accident the reporting officer talked to a witness who said that Pilgrim had been pushed (by the car) under a trailer parked in his yard and then out to the side of the trailer. The last line in the report, which had to be written on or after the sentence added on Nov. 22, reads, "Unit 1 advised R/o he had 2 drinks, 2 hours prior, no food all day. Doctor thinks he could be hyperglycemic."
If a person has a medical condition, known or unknown, doesn't eat all day, admits to two drinks (presumed alcoholic) by 2:30PM and blacks out two hours later while driving, isn't he still responsible for causing a serious-injury accident?
Will the Boone County SAO release Taylor's BAC? Will they charge him with moving violations? Driving left of the center line? Failure to stay in lane? Careless driving? Will the BAC justify impaired driving charges?
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4 comments:
Will you attend these hearings?
I don't expect to trek over to the Boone County courthouse, but I can get information by phone.
I was disappointed at the deputy's remarks that indicated she didn't think Taylor was so much at fault, if he had a medical problem that caused the crash. I wonder how deeply the SAO will dig into medical records. I wonder whether he ever blacked out before.
IT would be HYPOglycemic being too low blood sugar. Not eating plus drinking alcohol causes a release of insulin from the pancreas causing the blood sugars to fall.
By rights there should have been a mandatory blood draw as prescribed under (625 ILCS 5/11‑501.6) Driver involvement in personal injury or fatal motor vehicle accident‑chemical test.
At the very least an improper lane use ticket could be issued to require a test.
Five days after the crash report was written, the following was added: "Unit 1 advised R/O he had 2 drinks, 2 hours prior, no food all day. Doctor thinks he could be hyperglycemic."
Looks like a possible medical diagnosis may have been reported to the R/O as an excuse for blacking out.
A thorough investigation will reveal, including reports directly from Taylor's doctor, will reveal any medical condition and when it was first diagnosed. Regardless, tickets beyond "no insurance" are clearly warranted.
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