CHATHAM, Ill. (WAND) — A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against the YNOT After School Camp in Chatham after the deadly crash at the building in April 2025.
Chicago-based personal injury law firm Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard confirmed the lawsuit on behalf of the victims of the crash Wednesday.
The firm said the lawsuit alleges the building housing the camp was built in violation of safety codes in place at the time of construction.
The crash on April 28, 2025 killed five people, including four children and a camp counselor. Several other children were also hurt.
According to the complaint, when the building was built in 2012, Illinois safety regulations banned permanent youth camp facilities from being within 100 feet of a highway. However, the YNOT camp was built at a location that was less than 100 feet off County Highway 5A, the law firm said.
The complaint also said the camp did not have sufficient restraints to stop a vehicle from hitting the building, and that YNOT failed to make proper structural changes and improvements since its construction in 2012.
"No family should ever have to endure the unimaginable loss of a child," said Platiniff's attorney Lance D. Northcutt of the law firm. "Chatham is a tight-knit community, and this tragedy has deeply affected countless families. These children were irreplaceable. With this lawsuit, the families seek accountability for this profound loss and meaningful safety improvements to prevent a tragedy like this from ever happening again."
WAND News has reached out to the YNOT After School Camp for comment, but did not immediately hear back.
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