Starr v. Ward

The present case arises out of a suit for damages filed by plaintiffs Evelyn and Albert Starr in the circuit court of Tazewell County. The plaintiffs’ complaint originally named both Joseph Ward and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) as defendants, but IDOT was dropped from the suit by an agreement of the parties. Plaintiffs alleged that the defendant, employee and agent of IDOT, was operating a riding mower/tractor vehicle in the center median of Interstate 74 when the mower hit a concrete boulder, causing it to fly across the innermost lane of the interstate and hit the…