A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed in the April 2025 crash that left five children dead at a central Illinois after school camp.
The crash occurred after a 44-year-old woman apparently suffered a seizure behind the wheel of her vehicle, which then veered off a road and into the YNOT After School Camp in Chatham on April 28, 2025.
A total of five individuals, including four campers and a counselor, were killed, and six others were injured.
Among the children killed were 8-year-old Ainsley Grace Johnson, also known as “Squirt”; 7-year-old Alma Buhnerkempe; 18-year-old Rylee Britton, of Springfield; and 7-year-old Kathryn Corley, of Chatham.
Six additional children were taken to a nearby hospital with injuries, Illinois State Police said at the time of the crash.
Attorneys Wednesday announced a wrongful-death lawsuit in the case, filed against the daycare and against Chatham’s city government, alleging that the daycare was located too close to a roadway and didn’t have enough safety features to keep children inside safe.
Attorney Lance Northcut said plenty could have been done to prevent the tragedy, but that the inaction of lawmakers and the actions of the daycare required the lawsuit to be filed.
“What we are struggling to understand is of all the places it could have been located, why was it located there? And if so, why weren’t there precautions in place at the time that could have avoided this loss of life,” Northcut said.
Attorneys allege the camp violated Illinois safety regulations, which prohibit permanent youth camp facilities from being located within 100 feet of a highway.
The allegations also include questions about the construction of the building itself.
“It looked like a shed,” Northcutt said. “The materials it was built from consisted of an outer, very flimsy shell, and wood beam construction. It was essentially long two-by-fours.”
The lawsuit also names Chatham in the crash, alleging that officials did not ensure that proper safety equipment was positioned outside to prevent a vehicle from crashing into the building.
Northcutt says some effort has been made to fortify the outside of the building, but it isn’t sufficient.
“There are now boulders,” he said. “I can’t even call them boulders, rocks, that are placed around the facility. They are still not enough to stop the forward momentum of a vehicle.”
Chatham officials and the daycare did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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