A woman has filed a lawsuit against a driver who allegedly ran a red light and crashed into her and her husband’s car in Barrington Hills, leaving her husband dead.
Chicago-based law firm Cavanagh Law Group filed a three-count negligence lawsuit earlier this week in Cook County Circuit Court.
The suit was filed on behalf of 71-year-old Ilene Dietz following the death of her husband, Charles Dietz Jr., 73, of Barrington Hills.
Ilene Dietz was a passenger in a 2020 Tesla with her husband, Charles Dietz, who was driving on November 4.
The lawsuit accuses the other driver, 34-year-old Matthew Zavala, of running a red light, driving too fast for conditions and crashing into the Tesla at Route 68 and Route 59 in Barrington Hills.
The complaint also names the owner of the 2013 Nissan Rogue, which Zavala was driving at the time of the crash.
Charles Dietz suffered critical injuries and paramedics rushed him to Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington.
He died a week later, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
According to the complaint, Ilene Dietz suffered physical injuries and “great emotional harm” as a result of the crash and losing her longtime husband.
The couple had three adult children and several grandchildren.
“Due to Matthew Zavala’s negligence and carelessness regarding the safety of others, Ilene Dietz lost her husband of 50 years. The emotional trauma she suffered at the crash scene and watching her husband die in such a horrifying manner will stay with her for the rest of her life,” Michael J. Sorich, partner at Cavanagh Law Group, said.
“There has to be accountability. If Zavala had just followed the basic rules of the road, this tragedy would never have occurred,” Sorich said.
The complaint accuses Zavala of two counts of negligence and the vehicle’s owner, Melissa Idestein, of one count of negligent entrustment.