The Village of Oswego is looking at possible safety enhancements to prevent tragedies like Wednesday’s deadly car crash into Portillo’s from happening again.
The issue will be discussed during the next Village Board meeting, according to Oswego Village President Ryan Kauffman. There will also be a moment of silence to honor the 2-year-old boy that was killed in the crash.
“This has not previously been a topic of discussion at the Village Board level, but it will be now,” Kauffman said. “We owe it to the families who are hurting—and to everyone who lives, works or visits here—to take a hard look at how we can improve public safety.”
Oswego Village is reviewing their ordinances and safety protocols “to identify what more can be done to help prevent such tragedies in the future,” Kauffman said. “Currently, Oswego has a bollard requirement for all outdoor seating areas as part of our commercial review process, and that has been a requirement for decades.”
The Village is also looking at other communities for inspiration, evaluating their responses to similar incidents to see what additional safety measures could be brought to Oswego, Kauffman said.
“Nothing is off the table when it comes to protecting lives,” Kauffman said in a statement to NBC 5.
Oswego police have not indicated exactly how the crash happened. At this point, no charges have been filed. Police are reviewing surveillance and talking to witnesses.
“It happens so frequently. And it’s so foreseeable and it’s so preventable,” said co-founder of the Storefront Safety Council, Rob Reiter.
The Council was founded to prevent tragedies like this one. It advocates for safety bollards or barriers in public spaces where cars could cause harm.
NBC 5 Responds found that since 2023, the Council has tracked 111 cases of cars crashing into buildings in the Chicago area alone.
Most of the incidents they see, Reiter said, are at restaurants. And many of those locations, like the Portillo’s, have nose-in parking.
“Nose-in parking is probably one of the greatest risks for these sorts of accidents because you have 3,000 or 4,000 pound vehicles that are pulling into a spot about 5 feet from the front door and if for any reason that car doesn’t stop, it just keeps going through the front door,” he told NBC 5.
It happened at a restaurant in Crystal Lake two years ago. Four people were hurt when a car barreled into a wings spot during dinner.
Reiter said municipal level ordinances to require safety bollards aren’t very common, but they’re growing.
“Most cities that have adopted these things have adopted them as a result of a crash like this one, and there’s probably 20 or so of those around the country,” he told NBC 5.
Wednesday afternoon, investigators were called to the restaurant after a car drove into the front door, injuring 14 people including the driver. A 2-year-old boy died as a result of the crash.
Of the 14 injured, eight people were hospitalized and six others were treated at the scene and released.
Oswego residents mourned together Thursday, at the site of what police are calling a “tragic accident” at the Portillo’s off Route 34.
“Little boy’s not coming back,” said Oswego resident Katelyn Tomlinson, after placing a small toy near a growing memorial. Tomlinson has a 2-year-old little girl, so this tragedy hit close to home in more ways than one.
“When I heard it, it broke my heart so I felt like I needed to bring a toy. Something for the little boy,” she told NBC 5.
The identity of the 2-year-old boy has not been released.
“Oswego is strong. We care for our neighbors. We support one another. And we rise—together,” Kauffman said.
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