Car Accident Due to Unconsciousness Because of Rupture of Abdominal Aneurysm

Car Accident was Not Due to Decedent's Negligence but Due to Unconsciousness Because of Rupture of Abdominal Aneurysm: In Burns v. Grezeka, 155 Ill. App. 3d 294, 508 N.E.2d 449, 108 Ill. Dec. 288 (1987), the plaintiff was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped at a red light when it was struck in the rear by a car driven by the defendant's decedent. The driver of the car that the decedent hit stated in his deposition that he first observed the decedent about 15 seconds after the collision and noted that his eyes were open but rolled back, and his arms were up; shortly thereafter, the decedent was unconscious and drooling, with his eyes closed and his arms down. Burns, 155 Ill. App. 3d at 296, 508 N.E.2d at 450. When the plaintiff saw the decedent, he was gasping for air, was unconscious, and his skin was a grayish-blue color. Burns, 155 Ill. App. 3d at 296, 508 N.E.2d at 450. According to the doctor who examined the decedent shortly thereafter but prior to his death, the decedent told the doctor that he had suddenly become weak and passed out while driving his car. Burns, 155 Ill. App. 3d at 296-97, 508 N.E.2d at 450. The doctor: (1) explained that the decedent was suffering from an abdominal aneurysm, which had been present for the past two or three years and had spontaneously ruptured; (2) stated that the rupture had caused the decedent's blood pressure to drop, which rendered him unconscious about 45 to 60 seconds later; (3) opined that it was "most probable that the aneurysm had preceded and caused the accident"; (4) stated that the decedent "would not have experienced any forewarning of the rupture." Burns, 155 Ill. App. 3d at 296-97, 508 N.E.2d at 450. The defendant filed a motion for summary judgment (Burns, 155 Ill. App. 3d at 297, 508 N.E.2d at 451), in which she asserted an affirmative defense based on an act of God (Burns, 155 Ill. App. 3d at 299, 508 N.E.2d at 452). Specifically, the defendant claimed that the collision at issue was not due to the decedent's negligence but, instead, was caused by the decedent's abdominal aneurysm. Burns, 155 Ill. App. 3d at 299, 508 N.E.2d at 452.