Mayor O'Dekirk, Joliet Sued Over 2018 Car Crash

JOLIET, IL - Every week at the Will County Courthouse as many as a dozen civil lawsuits are filed involving personal injury car collisions across Will County. But this week is different. A new negligence lawsuit named Joliet Mayor Bob O'Dekirk and the city of Joliet as co-defendants.

The plaintiff, Falana Turner, was involved in the crash with the mayor's vehicle, a city-owned 2012 Chevy Impala, on Feb. 5, 2018 at the intersection of North Center Street and Charlotte Avenue.

According to the plaintiff's filing, Turner was driving northbound on North Center near Charlotte Avenue while O'Dekirk was driving the city-owned Chevy Impala east on Charlotte Avenue approaching North Center Street.

The lawsuit states "the defendant, Robert O'Dekirk ignored his stop sign, entered the intersection attempting to turn onto northbound North Center Street and subsequently struck the driver's side front panel of the plaintiff's vehicle."

According to the lawsuit, O'Dekirk "failed to allow sufficient reaction time between his vehicle and the plaintiff's vehicle to ensure he had ample time to bring his vehicle to a stop ..."

Turner wants Will County's judicial system to award her more than $50,000 in damages as a result of her collision with the mayor of Joliet's automobile.

As a result of the collision, O'Dekirk was given a traffic ticket by Joliet Police for making an improper left turn into oncoming traffic. O'Dekirk pleaded guilty to the offense last March. He had to pay a $250 fine and drew three months of court supervision, courthouse records show.

Turner's lawyer wrote that her client suffered "bodily injury of a personal and pecuniary nature .... Falana Turner ... has been caused to suffer pain and disability, has suffered a loss of a normal life, and has lost and will continue to lose profit earnings and wages she otherwise would have acquired."

Turner's four-page lawsuit was filed attorney Andrea Torgrimson of Dworkin & Maciariello in Chicago.

The city of Joliet has not filed a response to the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday at the Will County Courthouse.

File image from 2018 of Mayor Bob O'Dekirk via John Ferak/Joliet Patch Editor