(HICKORY HILLS) The family of a 27-year-old motorcyclist has filed a lawsuit against FedEx and the truck driver they say fatally struck the man while he was riding earlier this month in southwest suburban Hickory Hills.
Wayne Loebbaka suffered multiple injuries in the crash about 8:15 p.m. Oct. 5 at the intersection of 95th Street and 76th Avenue in Hickory Hills, and he was pronounced dead within an hour at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Hickory Hills Police Lt. Timothy Stevens said the crash was still under investigation and that no citations had been issued as of Monday night.
According to the suit filed Friday in Cook County Circuit Court by his brother Farrell Loebbaka, the motorcyclist had been riding east on 95th Street when a westbound FedEx semi made a left turn near 76th Avenue and hit him.
“FedEx Ground extends its deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Mr. Loebbaka,” FedEx spokeswoman Sharon Young said in an email. “Safety is our top priority, both within our operating company and across our network of service providers, and we are reviewing the circumstances associated with this accident.”
Loebbaka, who lived in the 6600 block of West Montrose Avenue in Harwood Heights, is survived by his three brothers, the suit says. A GoFundMe page created by relatives to cover burial expenses had raised nearly $12,000 as of Monday night.
The two-count wrongful death suit claims Loebbaka had the right of way and that the truck driver didn’t use a turn signal. It seeks an unspecified amount in damages.
