Lawsuit filed in double-fatal Elburn pileup

A wrongful-death lawsuit was filed Monday against an Aurora woman blamed for a nine-vehicle pileup that killed a St. Charles couple in May.

The complaint, filed in Kane County Circuit Court on behalf of the late Denise Thomas, names Alia N. Bernard, 24, as defendant and seeks unspecified damages for Thomas' three surviving children.

According to the lawsuit, Bernard was negligent May 23 when she rear-ended a car waiting to turn onto Smith Road from Route 47 near Elburn. The impact, police said, pushed a third vehicle into the path of an oncoming pack of motorcycles, killing both Thomas, 45, and her husband Wade, 44.

Police initially issued Bernard a traffic citation, but the ticket later was dismissed so county prosecutors could explore more serious charges, authorities said.

The lawsuit comes about two weeks after a coroner's jury ruled the cause of the deaths as undetermined.

It claims Bernard drove at "excessive" speeds and failed to slow down or take other preventive measures.

Bernard could not be reached for comment Monday, and has not responded to previous interview requests. An attorney for Thomas was unavailable.

Relatives have said the Thomases were married about a year before their deaths and had a total of eight children between them from previous marriages.

The lawsuit says the children "have suffered and will forever suffer" as a result of Bernard's "careless and negligent acts."

The case goes before Judge Judith M. Brawka on Oct. 15.