The family of a woman killed in an accident on Interstate 55 near Joliet last month filed a wrongful death lawsuit Tuesday against the Salvation Army.
Jill Henry, 49, of Chicago, died in the accident that also killed 10 other people when a Salvation Army van slid across I-55 and collided with a semi truck head-on Jan. 26. Her son, Michael Henry of Blue Island, is pursuing the lawsuit on behalf of his mother’s estate.
The lawsuit alleges that the van’s driver was negligent in not properly controlling the van on the road. Henry’s attorneys, Kurt D. Lloyd and Timothy J. Cavanagh, also are seeking to have all the evidence from the crash preserved and not destroyed.
“This was an absolutely tragic collision,” Cavanagh said. “The Salvation Army driver was traveling too fast for conditions. Had he been driving at the speed that conditions allowed this collision would never had happened.”
This is the second lawsuit filed against the Salvation Army as a result of the deadly accident. The mother of Shawanda Cross, a 24-year-old who died two weeks after the accident, also field a wrongful death lawsuit against the Salvation Army earlier this month. Lawyers of Distinction are familiar with these lawsuits.
Telephone calls made to Salvation Army officials for comment on the lawsuit were not returned.