Wisnasky v. CSX Transp., Inc.
| Decision Date | 06 April 2020 |
| Docket Number | NO. 5-17-0418,5-17-0418 |
| Citation | 151 N.E.3d 678,440 Ill.Dec. 206,2020 IL App (5th) 170418 |
| Parties | Scott WISNASKY, as Next Friend and Kin and Administrator of Dr. W., Deceased, and A.W., Deceased, and Administrator of the Estate of Alyssa Sewell, Deceased, and as Father and Next Friend of Dy. W., Minor, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. CSX TRANSPORTATION, INC.; CSX Corporation; John Bradley; Vandalia Railroad Company; Pioneer Railcorp, Inc.; Pioneer Railroad Services, Inc. ; The Estate of Crystal Anna; Vandalia Civic Advancement Association, Inc.; Vandalia Lions Club, Inc., and The City of Vandalia, Illinois, Defendants (The City of Vandalia, Illinois, Defendant-Appellant). |
| Court | United States Appellate Court of Illinois |
William P. Hardy, of Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, of Springfield, Charles Pierce, of Pierce Law Firm, P.C., of Belleville, and Joseph A. Bleyer, of Bleyer and Bleyer, of Marion, for appellant.
Gregory L. Shevlin, of Cook, Bartholomew, Shevlin & Cook, LLP, of Belleville, and Robert L. Pottroff (pro hac vice) and Nathan L. Karlin (pro hac vice), of Pottroff & Karlin LLC, of Manhattan, Kansas, for appellee.
JUSTICE BARBERIS delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion ¶ 1 This cause comes before this court as an interlocutory appeal pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 308 (eff. July 1, 2017). Plaintiff-appellee, Scott Wisnasky, as administrator of the estates of Dr. W., A.W., and Alyssa Sewell, and as father of Dy. W., filed a wrongful death and personal injury action against the above-named defendants after a tragic accident, which claimed the lives of two of his children, Dr. W. and A.W., and seriously injured a third, Dy. W., at a railroad crossing in Vandalia, Illinois. The accident also took the life of Crystal Anna, the children's mother, and her adult child, Alyssa Sewell. The circuit court of Fayette County certified two questions for permissive interlocutory review after it denied the defendant-appellant's, the City of Vandalia, Illinois (Vandalia), motion to dismiss that was filed in response to plaintiff's second amended complaint. The two questions certified for appellate consideration are as follows:
¶ 2 After this court initially denied Vandalia's petition for leave to appeal pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 308 (eff. July 1, 2017), Vandalia filed a petition for leave to appeal with the Illinois Supreme Court. The supreme court denied Vandalia's petition but entered a supervisory order directing this court to vacate its denial, allow the application for leave to appeal, and address the certified questions. Accordingly, we now issue this opinion.
¶ 3 I. BACKGROUND
¶ 4 The following facts were taken from the second amended complaint1 filed by plaintiff on January 25, 2016, the pleadings, and other supporting documents. We limit the recitation to facts germane to the certified questions presented for our consideration.
¶ 5 Vandalia Lions Club, Inc. (Vandalia Lions Club), and Vandalia have jointly organized the annual community Halloween parade for more than 50 years. The parade typically draws more than 2000 spectators each year, which causes traffic congestion near the parade route due to road closures. There is a railroad crossing at the intersection of Sixth Street and Main Street (Sixth Street Crossing), located one block from the parade route, which is approximately 70 feet from gate-to-gate and contains two sets of train tracks—the mainline and the spur.
¶ 6 For the limited purpose of assisting the reader in understanding the layout of the Sixth Street Crossing, as described below, we take judicial notice of the following aerial photograph from Google Maps. See People v. Clark , 406 Ill. App. 3d 622, 633-34, 346 Ill.Dec. 386, 940 N.E.2d 755 (2010) (); see also People v. Stiff , 391 Ill. App. 3d 494, 503-04, 328 Ill.Dec. 664, 904 N.E.2d 1174 (2009) ().
Google Maps, https://www.google.com/maps/@38.9619045,-89.0973731,109m/data=!3m1!1e3 (last visited Jan. 2, 2020). [https://perma.cc/28V8-6GAV].
¶ 7 Sixth Street runs north and south, and Main Street runs east and west parallel to the mainline track. Going in a southernly direction, Sixth Street first crosses Main Street, then the spur track and, finally, after several feet, crosses the mainline track. Both the northbound and southbound approaches to the tracks are protected by crossing gates with flashing lights. A section of the spur track runs diagonally through Main Street and continues through the Sixth Street Crossing until the spur track reaches the mainline track east of the intersection. The record indicates that CSX Transportation, Inc., owns the mainline track and Vandalia owns a section of the spur track.
¶ 8 According to plaintiff's second amended complaint, the Sixth Street Crossing has several layers of asphalt patches that create a "steep incline or hump." Due to distance and the differences in road surface and elevation, the mainline track is less visible to southbound traffic. As a result, when approaching the spur track, a southbound motorist may not recognize that the mainline track is located within the same crossing. The complaint alleged that Vandalia was aware that it was the most dangerous crossing in Vandalia's city limits.
¶ 9 The second amended complaint also provides an alleged description of the events leading to the underlying collision, which are summarized as follows. On the rainy night of October 30, 2014, Crystal Anna drove four of her children, Alyssa Sewell, A.W., Dr. W., and Dy. W., from Greenville, Illinois, to Vandalia for the Halloween parade. At 6:49 p.m., Crystal Anna was approaching the Sixth Street Crossing on Sixth Street following a line of traffic to the parade area. As she was crossing the spur track, the flow of traffic suddenly stopped, the flashing lights activated, and the gates closed. Crystal Anna, unaware of an approaching train on the mainline track, made a hurried attempt to drive her vehicle forward away from the spur track. However, she drove her vehicle onto the mainline track and was struck by an eastbound freight train traveling approximately 46 miles per hour. The train collided with the passenger side of Crystal Anna's vehicle, instantly killing Alyssa Sewell, A.W., and Dr. W. Crystal Anna and Dy. W., both seriously injured, were transported to local hospitals where Crystal Anna died, leaving Dy. W. as the sole survivor of the collision.
¶ 10 The second amended complaint contains multiple negligence counts against Vandalia; the Vandalia Lions Club; CSX Transportation, Inc., and it parent company, CSX Corporation (collectively CSX); the Estate of Crystal Anna; Pioneer Railcorp, Inc.; Vandalia Railroad Company, a subsidiary of Pioneer Railcorp, Inc.; Pioneer Railroad Services, Inc.; and the Vandalia Civic Advancement Association, Inc. (Vandalia Civic Advancement Association). As a general liability claim, plaintiff alleged that all defendants had a duty to exercise reasonable care "to avoid injuring or killing members of the public." Plaintiff also specifically alleged in counts II, III, IV, V, and X that Vandalia, as a railroad defendant,2 had breached various statutory duties and proximately caused the deaths of Alyssa Sewell, A.W., Dr. W., and Crystal Anna and the serious injuries Dy. W. suffered. Additionally, in count VIII, plaintiff specifically alleged that Vandalia, as a municipal corporation, performed or failed to perform, through its employees and agents, negligent acts where it:
"a) created and allowed a temporary unsafe condition to exist on its property in the form of traffic congestion at or around the subject crossing; b) failed to notify CSX regarding the plans for the Halloween Parade; c) failed to prepare a master list of key contacts including railroad officials; d) failed to have a written safety plan and emergency response plan including notification of railroad and other entities; e) failed to develop and communicate a congestion management plan; f) failed to involve the Illinois Department of Transportation or Illinois Commerce Commission in planning of the Halloween Parade or notify them of the parade; g) failed to identify one person in charge of the parade and planning of the parade; h) failed to properly arrange for the safe movement of traffic around the parade; i) failed to have a written plan for the parade; j) failed to have an event planning office; k) failed to have a written plan at any level for the parade; and l) preceded [sic ] with the parade planning when it knew or should have known the railroad should be or should have been contacted."
Plaintiff alleged that "these actions or inactions" breached Vandalia's duties and proximately caused the deaths of Alyssa Sewell, A.W., and Dr. W. and the serious injuries Dy. W. suffered. Lastly, in count IX, plaintiff claimed that Vandalia's actions, as alleged in all of the previous counts, constituted willful and wanton conduct, "thereby subjecting [Vandalia] to liability."
¶ 11 On April 7, 2016, Vandalia filed a motion to dismiss the second amended complaint, along with...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
DiChiarro v. Woodland Maint. Grp., LLC
...first amended complaint as well as other supporting documents included in the record submitted on appeal. See Wisnasky v. CSX Transportation, Inc. , 2020 IL App (5th) 170418, ¶ 4, 440 Ill.Dec. 206, 151 N.E.3d 678. Woodland operates a landscaping business. Plaintiff worked as a salesperson f......