Trucker Side-Swiped by Careless Driver

Occurred on January 31, 2017 / Chicago, Illinois, USA

Info from Licensor: "My girlfriend/co-driver and I were driving on the outskirts of Chicago on an interstate. Moved to center lane to allow cars onto interstate from on ramps. We were unable to move back into right lane due to a car centered on our trailer that came on using ramp. Our blinker was on but the jeep just didn't move. We saw construction in the fast lane ahead of us and held our lane (middle lane) since we couldn't get over to the slow lane. My girlfriend/co-driver was driving, I was in passenger seat. As we passed the construction I felt a slight drag in our momentum. I asked her what she just did and she stated that we had just got hit. I was in disbelief, I always thought there would be a bigger jolt when getting hit. She made her way into the fast lane in front of the construction until she calmed down and we gradually made our way to the curb. Once we were safely off the road I walked back to the construction site to check on the other driver and construction crew. I could not get across the highway due to traffic. I heard sirens approaching so I went back to the truck where my co-driver/girlfriend was crying, she was very upset. She saw it in her side mirror and was very worried about the other driver. A construction employee came up to our truck and said for us not to leave. I showed him that our rear trailer tandem tire was hanging off of a very dented rim and stated we weren't going anywhere with that. Ambulances and police showed up at the accident while we waited on the curb for officers. A tow truck driver pulled in front of us and said not to go anywhere, I again, showed him our damage and stated we were going no where. Finally a police officer shows up, asks us to pull forward a bit out of a slight curve we were on so they could pull the wrecked car up in front of us and do the accident report. We obliged. They pulled the car up in front of us and the police said that the driver of the car stated we ran him off the road. Which is why everyone kept telling us not to leave. (I had already downloaded the front and rear facing cameras data on my phone while waiting on officers). I pulled my phone out and said I have something for you to see and played the videos for him. He watched it a couple of times and stated that we did not move from our lane. He said he was prepared to write my co-driver/girlfriend tickets for the accident but due to the video evidence we were in the clear. I snapped pics of the car and our trailer as evidence for my company also. I was asked by the construction crews supervisor to send the video to him as evidence also when he viewed the video also. He stated that 2 construction vehicles were damaged and that 3 of his crew were going to the hospital. We even had an officer come to our truck and check out our cameras and their set up cause he was quite impressed with the video. We got the all clear to go on our way and waited for roadside assistance to come and figure out how to fix our trailers damaged rim and tire."