Former Cop Sentenced to Six Years

 Posted on July 16, 2013 in Personal Injury

A former Orland Hills police officer was handed down a six year prison sentence in mid-July "for a drunk driving accident that killed another driver in 2010," according to the chtribune. The former officer, Robert Caputo, 62, "pleaded guilty to aggravated DUI in May for his involvement in the fatal accident , which killed DaVon Pitts, a 20-year-old Homewood resident," according to the Tribune. Caputo hit Pitts with his pickup truck while he was driving eastbound Interstate Highway 80. Pitts' Chevrolet Malibu was parked on the shoulder. He had been forced to pull over because of a flat tire, and was "on his cell pone in the car when Caputo's truck hit," reports the Tribune. "The force of the collision knocked the Malibu into the ditch, where it caught fire with Pitts still inside. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene." According to the Illinois Department of Transportation's 2011 Illinois Crash Facts & Statistics report, there were 281,788 crashes on Illinois roadways in 2011. This breaks down to more than 770 crashes per day, in which more than 2 persons were killed per day and more than 8 persons were injured per hour. The same year, there were 32,866 crashes involving parked cars, like the one in which Pitts was killed. According to the New York State Department of Transportation, there were 25,562 roadway departure fatalities—including run-off-the-road and head-on collisions—nationwide in 2003. Many states, not including Illinois, have installed rumble strips on the side of the highway so that when incidents such as the one involving Caputo occur, it's possible that the driver will be aware that he's driving off the highway. If you or someone you know has been injured or killed when a drunk driver ran off the road and into your parked vehicle, you may be eligible for compensation. Don't go through it alone. Contact a dedicated Illinois personal injury attorney today.