Lawsuit filed in fatal van-motorcycle crash

Corey Cottrell
Corey Cottrell, 39, of Normal was killed June 22 when a hit and run driver struck his motorcycle in Bloomington. (Corey Cottrell Facebook page)

 

By Howard Packowitz

BLOOMINGTON – A wrongful death lawsuit filed in McLean County Court alleges the driver of a van and the van’s owner were negligent in the crash last month in Bloomington that killed motorcyclist Corey Cottrell from Normal.

Jose Rodriguez, 27, already faces a possible prison sentence on a criminal charge for allegedly failing to report the June 22 accident at Main Street and MacArthur Avenue.

The lawsuit seeks in excess of $50,000 in damages. It accuses Rodriguez of running a red light, driving over Cottrell, 39, as he lay on the pavement, then fleeing before first responders arrived.

Authorities said Rodriguez surrendered to Bloomington Police the next day.

The lawsuit also names the van’s owner GR Framing Construction Incorporated and German Javier Rodriguez as defendants. The lawsuit claims they should have known Jose Rodriguez did not have a valid driver’s license and that he was unfit and unqualified to drive the van.

A judge earlier this month ordered Rodriguez jailed in the criminal case on a $100,035 cash bond because of a federal immigration warrant. Rodriguez is from Honduras, but has lived with relatives in Bloomington for at least five years, according to his lawyer.

LeRoy attorney Thomas Pliura filed the lawsuit on behalf of Cottrell’s former wife, Violeta Hinojosa Cottrell, who is the administrator of the estate and mother of his two daughters.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…