Family Of Cyclist Fatally Struck In Roscoe Village Files Wrongful Death Suit

By Stephen Gossett in News on Oct 5, 2016 3:34PM

Anastasia Kondrasheva / Facebook

The mother of a cyclist who was fatally struck in Roscoe Village late last month filed a wrongful death lawsuit on Tuesday against the driver of the flatbed truck who hit the victim and the driver’s employer.

Anastasia Kondrasheva, a Naperville native who lived in Logan Square, was struck by a flatbed truck on Monday, Sept. 26 while riding to her job at Harken Health, where she was a health coach. The driver, Andre J. Sanders, made a right turn onto Addison from northbound Damen Ave. at about 7:50 a.m. striking Kondrasheva, who was travelling north through the intersection on Damen, in a right-hook collision.

Sanders was cited for failure to take due care of a bicyclist in the roadway. He and his employer, Westmont Interior Supply House, are both named in the lawsuit. (Westmont did not return a request for comment.)

Attorney Bob Clifford, of Clifford Law Offices, who is representing the Kondrasheva family, told Chicagoist that investigators for the firm have obtained video of the crash. He also stressed that drivers in general must be more aware of their surroundings in regards to cyclists.

“Motorists have yet to be tuned in to the legally permissible and proper interaction that cyclists are allowed in traffic,” he said. “I haven’t seen what the driver told police yet,” but in general, many drivers are not as attentive as we now have to be.”

Kondrasheva was traveling in a shared lane, marked as such with street signage and sharrows. A state law clarifying that a bicycle is entitled to the same rights as a vehicle passed the Illinois legislature in August with just a single vote of objection. The driver’s actions may have violated state and federal laws that pertain to commercial truck drivers. Active Transportation Alliance is currently seeking signatures to a petition that calls for enhanced commercial vehicle regulation and right-turn restrictions in dangerous locations, among other calls to action.

Hundreds of people gathered at a vigil on Friday to join family, friends and members of the Chicago cycling community to honor Kondrasheva, a recent Loyola graduate and student at Aloft Circus Arts. Gatherers dedicated a ghost bike and lit votives in remembrance at the crash site. A GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for the Kondrasheva family has more than doubled its $10,000 target. Kondrasheva was one of six cyclists to be fatally struck in Chicago this year.

Vigil for Anastasia Kondrasheva / GoFundMe