A highly recognizable Chicago tour company faces a wrongful death lawsuit over the death of tourist in late 2015.
Hiromo, a Japanese professor of agriculture touring Midwestern farms had taken a break from her work to visit an art museum on Saturday, November 21. She had the legal right of way and was in the crosswalk at the intersection of Michigan and Monroe Avenues when she was struck and killed by a trolley operated by The Chicago Trolley and Double Decker Company.
Chicago wrongful death attorney John Power commented, “This is clearly a case where the victim had every reasonable expectation of safety, and that was taken from her. She was a bright, highly respected professor, and her estate has every right to seek damages.”
Hiromo was attended to by other tourists and locals before paramedics arrived, but was declared dead at the scene. An autopsy showed that her death was caused by multiple blunt force traumas, but the death was ruled an accident. The trolley driver was cited for striking a pedestrian in a crosswalk, a felony traffic violation.
The lawsuit on behalf of Hiromo’s estate mentions the bus driver, The Chicago Trolley and Double Decker Company, and its parent companies. Damages sought by the Chicago wrongful death attorney are a minimum of $300,000.
Hiromo was remembered by friends as someone who was extremely likable, with an adventurous spirit. In addition to her work as an associate professor in Tokyo, Japan, she was a visiting professor at Cornell University. She was also a consultant for the Japanese dairy industry and developed international market strategies within the industry.
The Chicago Trolley and Double Decker Company is well known throughout the downtown area for its hop-on and hop-off tours. Its fleet includes over thirty trolleys, and forty open double decker buses. It is owned by Coach USA, a a bus company that operates throughout the Eastern United States and Canada.