Springfield Missouri Car Accident Lawyer Blog

A 20 year-old Illinois man is facing charges in connection with a collision between a car and a Metra train on Saturday night. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Pedro Bustamante has been cited for driving without a valid license, driving too fast for conditions, and operating an uninsured vehicle that caused bodily harm. Bustamante, his pregnant wife and their two young children were all injured in the collision.

The accident happened in Elgin, a Chicago suburb. Authorities say Bustamante was traveling south on Raymond Street when he approached a sharp curve in the road, where the street bends before reaching a railroad crossing. Instead of following the curve, Bustamante's Lincoln Continental ran off the road, hit a guardrail protecting the crossing's control box, and continued onto the tracks. It was then struck by the locomotive of an oncoming Metra train.

Bustamante's 14 month-old daughter was airlifted to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital with serious injuries, but her condition has since stabilized and she is expected to recover. The vehicle's other occupants - Bustamante; his wife, 19 year-old Brenda Ceja; and their 5 year-old son - were taken by ambulance to Provena Saint Joseph Hospital in Elgin. Bustamante and his son were treated and released, but Ceja, who is pregnant, remains hospitalized.

No one on board the train was injured. The train that struck the vehicle was delayed for about 90 minutes after the crash: it was damaged, but still operational. In contrast, Bustamante's Continental was completely destroyed. According to the Sun-Times, passengers on the train reported seeing "a dark blue 1997 Lincoln Continental with its entire engine-area torn off and the entire windshield spider-webbed with fracture marks; the car's engine, lying in the street about 20 feet away; and the car's transmission, lying in the street about 10 feet away from the engine."

Police suspect that weather conditions may have played a role in the crash, as it was dark and raining when the accident occurred. Alcohol is also believed to be a contributing factor, though Bustamante was not charged with driving while intoxicated. All of the charges against him are traffic-related misdemeanors.

The accident prompted two other minor incidents on Raymond Street. Immediately after the crash, another vehicle struck the wrecked Continental, but that driver was not injured and his vehicle only sustained minor damage. Then, after the family had been transported from the scene, a second vehicle collided with the wreckage, but no one in that vehicle was hurt.

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This afternoon, the jury in the campaign finance trial of former presidential candidate John Edwards indicated that it had reached a verdict. However, they returned to court with a unanimous verdict on count three, only one of the six felony charges against Edwards. Within the hour, the jury announced that it was deadlocked on the remaining charges, and the case was officially declared a mistrial.

U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Eagles was understandably confused when the jurors revealed their position earlier today. "I was obviously under the impression you had reached a verdict on all six counts," Judge Eagles said in court, according to CBS News. She then instructed the jury to continue deliberating on the remaining counts without revealing the jury's decision on the third felony charge. The Hill's Blog Briefing Room reported that Edwards' defense team immediately lobbied for a mistrial, but Judge Eagles insisted the jury continue deliberating.

About 45 minutes later, the jury returned to court again and announced that it had acquitted Edwards on count three, which charged him with accepting and receiving illegal campaign contributions from heiress Rachel "Bunny" Mellon. However, it was not able to reach a unanimous decision on the other five charges, prompting Judge Eagles to officially declare a mistrial.

Edwards had pleaded not guilty to the six felony charges against him, which included four counts of receiving illegal campaign contributions, one count of conspiracy, and one count of making false statements. The charges are connected to approximately $925,000 in payments he received from two campaign donors, Mellon and Fred Baron, which were allegedly used to hide his affair - and his child -with Rielle Hunter, who was a videographer for his 2008 presidential campaign.

The jury, comprised of eight men and four women, was tasked with deciding if Edwards "knowingly and willfully" violated campaign finance laws by using the funds to cover up his relationship with Hunter. The defense argued that Edwards had committed many "moral wrongs," but that his behavior was not illegal. His attorneys maintained the funds were not campaign contributions, but gifts given to help him hide the affair from his wife, Elizabeth Edwards, who was terminally ill with breast cancer. Elizabeth died in December 2010.

Continue reading "John Edwards Acquitted on 1 Felony Count, Mistrial Declared on Remaining 5 Charges" »