$22.7 Million Judgement Awarded to Widow of Union Man Killed in I-294 Crash

Photo caption: Theresa Swenson, middle, with her attorneys during a press conference Tuesday. Swenson was awarded a $22.7 million judgement in a wrongful death lawsuit Monday.

Aaron Swenson was stopped in traffic in a construction zone near Roosevelt Road when the collision occurred, according to ABC 7 Chicago. He died at the scene.

His wife, Theresa Swenson, was pregnant at the time but lost her baby a couple weeks after the crash.

“We counted on spending decades together. We were going to grow old together and watch our children grow. All of that has been taken from us,” Swenson said during a press conference Tuesday. “Not only did I lose my husband, but I also lost what would have been a lifetime of memories, happiness and family moments together.”

A Cook County jury awarded the $22.7 million judgement to Tracy Swenson on Monday following a two-week trial, according to the Cook County Record. Swenson, who is now 31 years old, filed the lawsuit a couple weeks following the crash against the truck driver, Adam Troy, and also against the company he was working for, Bridgeton, Mo.-based Hussmann Corporation.

Criminal charges against Troy are pending, according to the Daily Herald.

The wrongful-death verdict Monday is believed to be the largest in the past decade in Cook County, according to a press release from Clifford Law Offices.

"The case is a very sad one. The loss of this young husband and father was senseless," attorney Kevin P. Durkin said following the verdict.

The five-man-seven-woman jury deliberated for three hours Monday before reaching the verdict.

"This incident occurred just before 8 o'clock in the morning," said attorney Colin H. Dunn. "That means this driver most likely started out his day in an impaired condition and ended the life of an innocent man. It's a devastating loss for his family."

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