Deadly Car Crash Results in $19.3 Million Settlement

Robert A. Clifford and James C. Pullos, partners at Clifford Law Offices, obtained a $19.3 million settlement on behalf of a driver and passenger who were killed when they were pushed off the road into oncoming traffic by a semi-truck on Interstate 80 in Grundy County, Illinois. 

Sofiane Bessai, 33, of Elgin, was driving a car westbound on Interstate 80 with Brayan Jimenez Velasquez, 26, of Lake County, Indiana, when they were rear-ended by a West Side Transport, Inc. semi-truck on Aug. 12, 2022, at approximately 5 p.m. The force of the crash caused the car to veer across the median into eastbound traffic where an oncoming truck crashed into their car. Both men were killed in the crash. 

“This crash was caused by the semi-truck driver’s failure to pay attention to the surrounding traffic before changing lanes,” said Clifford, founder and senior partner at Clifford Law Offices. “The deaths of these two young men were entirely preventable.”

The case was settled last week before Cook County Circuit Court Judge Thomas V.  Lyons II of the Law Division. 

“Both men were such wonderful people who came to the United States in search of a better life and were in the prime of making their dreams a reality. Because of this tragic event, their lives and dreams were needlessly cut short,” Pullos said.