Year-Long Chicago Tribune Investigation of Teen-Driver Fatalities Begins Sunday

Inexperience, speed, alcohol factors in the No. 1 cause of death in youths

CHICAGO, March 4 -- Automobile accidents remain the No. 1 killer of teens, a stubborn trend that has prompted a year-long investigation by the Chicago Tribune that not only aims to document each teen-driver fatality in the Chicago area this year but seeks to gain insight into this public health problem. The series debuts in Sunday's edition of the newspaper and online at http://www.chicagotribune.com/.

Every year, more American teenagers die in car wrecks than any other way. Nationally, that number was 5,610 fatalities in 2004. In the Chicago region alone, from 1994 through 2004, an average of 57 died annually in accidents involving teen-drivers.

"We want to provide some useful information that teenagers, teachers, parents and policy makers can use to get at the causes and hopefully find some solutions," says reporter Ted Gregory. "Research shows that we lose 5,000 to 6,000 teenagers a year to car wrecks. If we had a disease that took that many teenagers each year, you'd bet that we would work hard to get at the root of the problem."

The year-long look at teen fatalities will focus on the teen-drivers: What makes them different and more dangerous on the road, what impact fatalities have on the community and what might be done to reduce the number of accidents and deaths. Additionally, the series will reveal the statistics behind teen-driver fatalities.

"We examined 11 years worth of fatal crash data where teen-drivers were involved," says reporter John McCormick. "There are many factors that go into why teen crashes are so common. Our research showed that one of those factors is the prevalence of speed."

For a story on each accident identified by the Chicago Tribune so far this year, along with photos of the teen victims and graphical illustrations of teen-driver statistics, go online at http://chicagotribune.com/teendrivers.

Chicago Tribune reporters Ted Gregory and John McCormick are available for media interviews -- in print and on-air -- to discuss their reporting on teen driver fatalities. Contact Michael Dizon at 312-222-3165 to schedule an interview.

Chicago Tribune Company publishes the Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper with daily readership of nearly 2 million and nearly 3 million on Sunday. Together with other media businesses it operates -- including chicagotribune.com, RedEye, Hoy and Chicago Magazine -- Chicago Tribune Company reaches approximately 60 percent of adults in Chicagoland every week. Chicago Tribune is the founding publication of Tribune Company , one of the country's leading media companies with businesses in broadcasting, publishing and on the Internet.