Story Archive

Need More Deterrence?

Hiroyuki Joho was hit and killed by a train while crossing the tracks in Chicago, Ill., but Gayane Zokhrabov says she’s the actual victim. Joho, 18, was racing through heavy rain for a commuter train when he was hit by an oncoming Amtrak engine. Joho’s body — or, at least, part of it — flew 100 feet through the air, knocking down Zokhrabov, then 58, who was waiting on a platform; the impact broke her leg and wrist. An Illinois appeals court has ruled that Zokhrabov’s lawsuit against Joho’s estate can go forward on the theory that “it was reasonably foreseeable” that if the train hit him, it would hurl his corpse toward the people on the platform. “If you do something as stupid as this guy did,” says Zokhrabov’s attorney, “you have to be responsible for what comes from it.” (AC/Chicago Tribune) ...Nothing makes a dead guy take responsibility like suing him for damages.