Couple lodges complaint against driver over crosswalk collision

A man is facing a lawsuit over claims he struck a Cook County couple walking through a crosswalk in Chicago.

Xian Mei Chen and Jin Cheng Fan filed a complaint Nov. 3 in Cook County Circuit Court against Douglas M. Messer.

The plaintiffs allege they were walking through a crosswalk on the west side of the intersection of South Wentworth Avenue and West 33rd Street at about 3:40 p.m. Nov. 27, 2012, when Messer, who was approaching the intersection driving east in a motor vehicle, struck them, causing bodily injury.

The defendant is accused of failing to decrease speed to avoid striking pedestrians and failing to keep a safe lookout while operating a motor vehicle among others charges.

The plaintiffs, who are married, are seeking damages in excess of $50,000, plus court costs, and are represented by William J. Leonard and Gregory Thomas Condon of Wang, Leonard & Condon in Chicago.

Cook County Circuit Court case number: 2014L011409.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed at Cook County Circuit Court. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note that a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it represents only one side of the story.