Accident on U.S. 14; no D/L, no ins.

Gus Philpott
Woodstock Advocate
September 22, 2007

This morning’s Northwest Herald (9/22/07, Page 5B) reports a serious accident on U.S. 14 yesterday between Harvard and Woodstock. One driver reportedly failed to stop at a stop sign and drove into the path of a pick-up truck heading toward Harvard about 10:00AM.

Four people were injured, and eastbound U.S. 14 was closed for an hour. Can you imagine the confusion and loss of time and money there, in addition to the cost to law enforcement and rescue services?

One of the drivers was charged with driving without a driver’s license and without insurance. Basically, what this means is that he could not produce a driver’s license or proof of insurance for the deputy’s inspection, and the deputy correctly issued tickets for these violations.

It’s possible that the driver has both a driver’s license and insurance. On the other hand, he may be one of 13,-14,000 Hispanic people in McHenry County who are here illegally. Where does this number come from? According to a well-placed person at the McHenry County Latino Coalition, there are about 40,000 Hispanics in McHenry County. Nationwide figures indicate that 30-40% of Hispanics are in the USA illegally.

Was the driver in the USA legally? If not, what action will the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department or the Harvard Police Department, where that driver lives, be taking?

If the other driver ran the stop sign and drove into the path of the truck that hit him, there is probably no liability on the part of the truck driver. Then it’s a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. In that case, having a driver’s license and insurance has nothing to do with the safe operation of the truck. However, you still have to have them, and that’s what caught this driver.