First National Bank of Normal v. Illinois Central Gulf Railroad

Railroad crossing.

Fatality.

Wilful and wanton misconduct.

Jury found for plaintiffs.

Verdict: *402,496.84.

We affirm.

This suit was brought after Kenneth Wilson was killed when his pickup truck was struck by a passenger train at the Elm Street crossing in Atlanta, Illinois. The defendant, Illinois Central Gulf Railroad Company (Illinois Central), was the owner of the right-of-way which constituted the crossing at Elm Street.

Here are the facts.

Elm Street is a paved two-lane road running in a general east-west direction. It is not curved or marked with a center line and is used mainly by local traffic…