A Lake County minor’s parents and one other adult filed suit against a driver and his cleaning business employer, claiming vehicular negligence in a 2013 accident at an area middle school.
Brandon Hammitt, by his mother and next friend Debra Hammitt; David Hammitt; and Gary Krupinski of Wildwood brought a complaint against Kong Jae Ryo of Mount Prospect and Da Da’s Cleaners of Gurnee on June 24 in Cook County Circuit Court, alleging negligence in the August 2013 incident.
According to the filing, Brandon and his father were exiting the doors of the boy’s school following registration on Aug. 7, 2013, alongside Krupinski, when Kong Jae Ryo, who was delivering band uniforms to the facility, suddenly accelerated his van backwards into the school’s vestibule and crashed into all three pedestrians.
The suit faults the defendants for violation of traffic laws, stating that Ryo failed to exercise due caution and keep a proper lookout and that the plaintiffs suffered injuries as a direct and proximate result of the defendant’s wrongful acts.
The plaintiffs seek damages in excess of $50,000 plus attorneys’ fees and costs. They are represented in the case by Thomas M. Paris in Chicago.
Cook County Circuit Court case number 2015L0006424.