A wrongful death lawsuit was filed on Tuesday on behalf of the father of bike courier Blaine Klingenberg, who was fatally struck by a double-decker tour bus at Michigan and Oak during the evening rush on June 15. The suit names bus driver Charla Henry and her employer, Chicago Trolley & Double Decker Company.
“Disobeyed a solid red indication on a traffic signal”
“Failed to exercise that degree of care and caution that a reasonable person under similar circumstances would have exercised in the operation of the [double-decker] bus”
“Failed to keep an adequate lookout”
“Drove the . . . bus at a speed that was greater than was reasonable given the traffic conditions and the use of the highway”
“Failed to avoid hitting a bicyclist”
“Was otherwise careless or negligent in the operation of the … bus”
The suit argues that, in addition to being fatally injured, Klingenberg “suffered great pain and anguish, both in mind and body prior to his death.”
FK Law plans to subpoena OEMC this week. Kevenides says the department will likely have two or three weeks to respond. Yesterday FK Law staff inspected the bus along with experts hired by the firm. “We’ve uncovered a lot, but there’s a whole lot more info out there,” Kevenides says. “Our strategy moving forward is to investigate exactly what happened and try to gain a much clearer picture than was previously reported.”
