A lawsuit was filed Thursday in the fatal crash of a Chicago-based theater actor in northwest Indiana last year.
Bernard Yvon, whose estate is being represented by Matthew Raftery, was killed Sept. 6, 2014 in the crash involving a commercial semi truck, according to the Lake County coroner’s office and Munster police.
About 10 a.m. that day, 50-year-old Yvon was heading to a rehearsal and was driving a Toyota southbound on Calumet Avenue near Broadmoor Avenue in Munster, Ind., authorities said at the time. A truck operated by Pacer Cartage was heading northbound and struck Yvon’s car when it attempted to turn left onto Broadmoor.
Yvon, of the 4400 block of North Troy, died an hour later, the coroner’s office said.
“We had a rehearsal scheduled for a 10 a.m. on Saturday, and Bernie called from the road and said, ‘I’ll be there in five minutes’,” Bill Pullinsi, artistic director of Theatre at the Center in Munster, told the Sun-Times. “An hour went by, and he didn’t answer his cell, and then we heard there had been an accident not far from the theater. It took quite a while before the police would even release his name.”
The lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, claims the truck driver failed to keep proper lookout for Yvon’s vehicle and was driving too fast. It also holds Pacer Cartage responsible since their truck was involved.
Pacer Cartage could not be reached Thursday evening for comment.
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The four-count, wrongful death suit is asking for an unspecified amount in damages plus legal fees.
Yvon appeared as Harry Houdini in the Broadway production of “Ragtime,” the Sun-Times previously reported. He was in several Chicago-area musicals, including “The Music Man” and “Mary Poppins.”
He was also the understudy for actor and singer Donny Osmond in “Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” for several years.
Yvon made frequent appearances in productions at the Marriot Theatre in northwest suburban Lincolnshire.
“We were best friends for 30 years, and I cannot count the number of shows he did for us during that time,” said Terry James, executive producer of the Marriott Theatre. “We hired him for ‘Big River’ soon after he graduated from Northwestern University, and he has been working here ever since.”
