Double Amputee Sues Joliet After Scooter Mishap On Theodore Street

JOLIET —Ten months after Elizabeth Duncan had two of her limbs amputated following her horrific electric moped crash on the far west end of Joliet, the Chicago law firm of Hurley, McKenna and Mertz has filed a negligence lawsuit against the city of Joliet.

At 33 years old, Duncan was dragged for over a mile underneath a Jeep Wrangler after she crashed into an object in the middle of Theodore Street around 5:35 a.m. on Oct. 19, 2023.

According to the Will County civil lawsuit, Duncan was driving her moped along the roadway near the 5000 block of Theodore Street in Joliet, and "drove over the loose sewer cover, causing her moped to crash.

"Due to the crash, another driver ran over Elizabeth Duncan as she was lying in the road and dragged her body approximately one mile to 1100 River Road," her Chicago law firm asserted.

According to the plaintiffs, the city of Joliet failed to maintain the roadway properly, failed to ensure the water sewer cover was properly secured, failed to repair the roadway in a timely fashion, failed to repair the displaced water sewer cover in a timely fashion, failed to warn motorists of the hazard and "was otherwise careless and or negligent."

Duncan's lawyers are seeking a judgment against Joliet in excess of $50,000.

"As a result of the crash, Elizabeth Duncan suffered severe and pecuniary injuries such as double amputation," noted her lawyers Michael Mertz and Cole Hawkins.

Joliet Patch reached out to Joliet's media relations director for comment regarding the civil lawsuit blaming the city of Joliet for the double-amputee's wreck on Theodore Street.

After conferring with the city of Joliet's legal department, city spokeswoman Rosemaria DiBenedetto notified Joliet Patch that "we cannot comment on pending litigation."

Original Joliet Patch story:

Woman Falls Off Scooter In Joliet, Dragged Under Jeep To Shorewood