Mother of woman killed biking to work files wrongful-death lawsuit
The Naperville mother of a 23-year-old woman struck and killed while riding her bike last week in Chicago filed a wrongful-death lawsuit Tuesday against a truck driver and his company.
Ekaterina Kondrasheva, mother of Anastasia Kondrasheva, filed suit in Cook County circuit court against driver Andre J. Sanders and his employer Westmont Interior Supply House. She is seeking at least $100,000 in damages.
Anastasia Kondrasheva, a 2011 graduate of Neuqua Valley High School, was biking to work around 7:50 a.m. Sept. 26 when she was struck by the flatbed truck carrying construction equipment at the intersection of Damen Avenue and Addison Street on Chicago's North Side.
Police said the driver was heading north on Damen and struck Kondrasheva as he was turning right onto Addison. He was issued a citation.
The suit argues the driver was negligent, as Kondrasheva was riding in a shared bicycle lane on Damen.
"Chicago has become a very bike-friendly town, and all drivers should know to expect bicyclists will be in the bike lanes because that's what they are there for," said Robert Clifford, a Chicago attorney representing the family. "A bicyclist is defenseless when a truck driver is so negligent as to not take precautions to avoid them."
The trucking company couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday night.