Lawsuit Vs. Minooka Fire Protection District After Ambulance Wreck On Ridge Road

MINOOKA, IL— The motorist who collided with the Minooka Fire Protection District ambulance on the afternoon of May 23 has retained a law firm and filed a personal injury lawsuit at the Will County Courthouse. Plaintiff John Wnek is being represented by Corboy & Demetrio and their lawsuit named ambulance driver Jacob Truhlar and Minooka Fire as co-defendants.

The lawsuit noted that Truhlar was an employee with Minooka Fire and on May 23, he operated the Minooka Fire ambulance going east on Wildy Road heading toward Ridge Road. Meanwhile, plaintiff Wnek was driving a car northbound on Ridge.

The eastbound traffic for Wildy was controlled by a stop sign at Ridge Road and there also existed several buildings, structures, trees and foliage along Wildy Road, the lawsuit noted.

According to the plaintiff, Truhlar and Minooka Fire were transporting a patient who was in stable condition in their ambulance and "whose medical condition upon transport to the hospital was not a bona fide or true emergency for which the deliberate disregard of traffic control standards was not required to reduce the seriousness of the situation nor authorized by a licensed physician."

The lawsuit contends that Truhlar "made a conscious and deliberate decision to disregard the posted stop sign at the intersection of Wildy Road and Ridge Road and enter the intersection without reducing his speed or stopping."

The lawsuit noted that Truhlar was only 19 years old when he crashed the ambulance and Minooka Fire "mandated that such personnel must be at least 20 years of age."

The defendants in the lawsuit are accused of recklessly operating the ambulance at a speed in excess of 40 mph and in disregard of traffic laws. The lawsuit also accused Minooka Fire and the 19-year-old ambulance driver of recklessly operating the ambulance without due regard for the safety of others.

The plaintiffs argue that Wnek sustained injuries of a personal and pecuniary nature as a result of the reckless acts of the defendants. The lawsuit seeks an unspecified monetary judgment against Minooka Fire and Truhlar in Will County court.