ROCKFORD, Ill. (October 1, 2025) – A Winnebago County jury awarded $52 million Tuesday to the family of an 88-year-old man who was killed in a multi-vehicle crash in Stockton, Illinois that also left his adult son seriously injured.
Around 1:45 p.m. on May 20, 2018, Bob Krischon, 56, and his father Fred Krischon, 88, were driving eastbound on US Route 20, a 2-lane highway, returning home from their family cabin in Galena. Bob and Fred were driving behind a Freightliner tractor with an attached utility tractor-trailer owned by defendant Panera Bread and operated by defendant driver Eluid Valencia. Defendant Mary Norman was driving westbound on Route 20 when her vehicle was involved in a collision with the Panera truck near the centerline of Route 20. The impact forced her vehicle into the eastbound lane, where it struck the Krischon vehicle head-on, causing it to catch fire.
Despite being injured, Bob was able to escape the vehicle. His father, Fred, tragically, was unresponsive and unable to escape the flames. Bob was forced to watch in horror as his father was killed in the fire. Ms. Norman’s passenger, Ruthie Fairchild, succumbed to her injuries a few days after the crash.
Bob was transported to an area hospital and was diagnosed with a right calcaneal fracture, right patella fracture, multiple rib fractures, and pneumothorax of the right lower extremity from a punctured lung. Since the collision, he has undergone multiple orthopedic surgeries and has developed chronic arthritic and neuropathic pain. As a result of his injuries, Bob is no longer able to perform the physical duties that were required as part of his profession running his own construction business. His injuries have also significantly limited his physical activities, something he enjoyed in his spare time.
Attorneys for the Krischon family claimed Mr. Valencia should have known the semi-truck he was driving was susceptible to “off tracking” when driving along a curved road and should have taken precautionary measures to avoid this. Additionally, Mr. Valencia’s employer, Panera Bread, did not adequately train or retrain Mr. Valencia to operate a vehicle like the one he was driving on the day of the fatal crash. Plaintiff’s attorneys also alleged Ms. Norman was liable for the crash as well, in that she was driving too close to the center line of Route 20.
A lawsuit was filed in 2018, and the case proceeded to trial in September of 2025 in Winnebago Circuit Court before the Honorable Lisa R. Fabiano.
“During the course of his 11-year employment with Panera, Mr. Valencia was involved in four separate collisions. Despite his troubling driving record, he was still permitted to drive a semi-truck and Panera did not provide appropriate retraining following the collisions,” Plaintiff’s attorney Heidi L. Wickstrom said during opening statements.
On September 30, 2025 a jury awarded the family $52 million – including $15 million for the Estate of Fred Krischon and $37 million for Bob Krischon’s injuries. The jury awarded the Estate of Ruthie Fairchild $15 million.
“This case is tragic on so many levels. Just before this crash, the Krischon family was planning Fred’s 89th birthday party – but he never made it to that birthday because of this preventable crash,” Plaintiff’s attorney Patrick A. Salvi II said. “This case underscores the responsibility corporations have to properly train their employees at every level. We are thankful to the jury for recognizing the magnitude of the Krischon family’s loss.”
The plaintiff was also represented by attorneys John A. Mennie and Kristen M. Stoicescu of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard, P.C.
The Estate of Ruthie Fairchild was represented by attorneys Art Kielty and Arabella Gigliotti of Reno & Zahm, LLP at trial.
The Defendants were represented at trial by attorneys Thomas J. Lyman, III and W. Mark Sickles of Amundsen Davis, LLC on behalf of Mr. Valencia and Panera, LLC and Eileen McCabe of Lucas, Olness & Associates.
For more information, please contact Marcie Mangan at (312) 372-1227 or mmangan@salvilaw.com.
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Case No.: 18 L 000198 [ESTATE OF FREDERICK R. KRISCHON, SR. deceased, by RANDINE COURTNEY, Administrator, ROBERT KRISCHON, Individually, and JILL KRISCHON, Individually, Plaintiffs, vs. PANERA, LLC, an Illinois Corporation; PENSKE TRUCK LEASING CORPORATION, a Delaware Corporation, ELUID VELNCIA, Individually, and MARY NORMAN, Individually. Defendants.] Consolidated with Case No.: 18 L 000235 [ESTATE OF RUTHIE FAIRCHILD, deceased by MALIKA MILLER, Administrator, Plaintiff, vs. PANERA, LLC, an Illinois Corporation; PENSKE TRUCK LEASING CORPORATION, a Delaware Corporation, ELUID VELNCIA, Individually, and MARY NORMAN, Individually. Defendants]
