I-80 Fatal Crash In Joliet Leads To Wrongful Death Lawsuit

JOLIET, IL —Relatives of a 75-year-old Joliet woman who died last month after her car was struck from behind by a semi-truck along Interstate 80 near Joliet's Larkin Avenue exit have filed a wrongful death lawsuit. Judith Revels died June 26 at the AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center nine days after her crash in Joliet, the lawsuit states.

"Judith will be remembered best as a kind and caring person, one who worried more about others before herself," her obituary stated.

On June 17, Revels was driving along the westbound I-80 stretch near Midland Avenue and when traffic began to slow, she slowed as well, according to attorney Frank Andreano of Andreano Law.

Moments later, a commercial truck driver for Jeep Transport crashed into the back of Revels' vehicle, according to the plaintiff's lawsuit. The semi driver, Deivis Grigonis, caused the Joliet woman to suffer "grave and ultimately fatal injuries," the lawsuit states.

According to Andreano Law, the commercial semi-truck driver failed to slow his vehicle to avoid colliding with other vehicles on I-80. Grigonis also failed to keep a proper lookout for other vehicles on the road including Revels. Third, the lawsuit states, Grigonis failed to keep a proper distance between himself and other vehicles on I-80 including the victim.

"As a direct and proximate result of one or more of this defendant's careless and negligent acts and or omissions, the decedent sustained injuries that caused or contributed to her death," Andreano Law contends.