CHATHAM, Ill. (WCIA) — The investigation into April’s deadly car crash at the YNOT Outdoors after-school program in Chatham is complete, and the State’s Attorney’s Office will not be filing charges in the case.
10 children were hit by a Jeep on April 28 when the vehicle drove off of Breckenridge Road, went into a field and then hit the building housing the after-school program. Continuing into the building, the Jeep struck the children and then drove out the other side of the building before crashing into a light pole and fence.
Five of the children died from their injuries; they are:
- 7-year-old Alma Buhnerkempe of Chatham
- 7-year-old Kathryn Corley of Chatham
- 8-year-old Ainsley Johnson of Chatham
- 8-year-old Bradley Lund of Springfield
- 18-year-old Rylee Britton of Springfield
Top row: Alma Buhnerkempe, Kathryn Corley, Ainsley Johnson. Bottom row: Bradley Lund and Rylee Britton
After months of investigation by the Illinois State Police and the Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s Office, State’s Attorney John Milhiser said on Thursday that the evidence from the investigation does not support criminal charges against the driver of the car that went into the building.
“The evidence collected by the Illinois State Police indicates that it was most likely a medical episode (seizure) that caused the driver of the Jeep to veer off the road and into the YNOT building, tragically killing five,” Milhiser said.
Evidence supporting the seizure theory included testimony from witnesses at the scene, Milhiser said. One person reported that the driver — 44-year-old Marianne Akers of Chatham — was slumped with her arms extended and her head hanging toward the steering wheel, as if “she was taking a nap.”
The first two responders who got to her Jeep and pulled her out reported that she was unresponsive. When she woke up, they said she seemed disoriented and confused, had no memory of what happened and didn’t know where she was.
“According to the medical director from the Illinois State Police, after a review of the results from subsequent tests at the hospital, Akers showed ‘objective evidence of seizures,’ but there was no evidence to establish the cause of the seizures,” Milhiser said.
He added that Akers had a valid driver’s license at the time of the crash, but her driving privileges were canceled after the crash; they are still canceled as Thursday.
Illinois State Police said the crash scene was spread across 1,300 feet from the spot where Akers left Breckenridge Road to the light pole and fence where her Jeep stopped. The Traffic Crash Reconstruction Report concluded that while driving through the field, Akers’ Jeep maintained a speed of 38 to 40 miles per hour.
“[Akers] applied 100 percent of the accelerator pedal, did not apply the brakes and the Jeep’s Stability Control was engaged,” the reconstruction report reads. “An analysis of the event and the Jeep’s Stability Control concluded that the vehicle remaining at a relatively constant speed was due to the Jeep’s Stability Control being on and engaged. This limited the engine throttle percent, thus limiting the wheel speed and the vehicle’s overall ground speed.”
The Jeep hit the YNOT building at approximately 45 miles per hour, the report added.
To establish that Akers’ role in the crash rose to the level of criminality, the State had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt one of three scenarios:
- That Akers intended to drive her Jeep into the YNOT Outdoors building or willfully drove recklessly
- That Akers was under the influence of drugs or alcohol or a combination of both
- That Akers was negligent or reckless in driving because of a known medical condition
Milhiser stated that there was no evidence to support any of these scenarios. The investigation found that Akers left her workplace at a normal time and was taking a normal route home until her Jeep went off Breckenridge Road, and the idea of the crash being intentional was ruled out within days of it happening.
Toxicology testing showed that Akers was not under the influence at the time of the crash, and further investigation found no evidence to support the theory that Akers acted recklessly or negligently in driving with a known medical condition like seizures.
As a result, the state cannot classify the crash as a criminal offense and will not file charges.
“Our hearts continue to break for the families impacted by this unimaginable tragedy,” Milhiser added. “Thank you to all the medical providers and law enforcement for their response and thorough investigation. We will continue to pray for the families and all of Chatham. This is a horrific case with lives taken and families and a community charged forever.”
Speaking with WCIA, Akers’ attorney W. Scott Hanken provided the following statement on Milhiser’s decision not to pursue charges against his client:
This is a good person who found themselves in an unforeseen situation that nobody could foresee or avoid. And that’s understood and appreciated by the law. And that was the basis for Mr. Millhiser making the announcement that there was no basis for any type of criminal charges.
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