State's Attorney won't charge driver in YNOT crash that killed 5

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - The Sangamon County State's Attorney said it will not file criminal charges against the driver who went off the road and into a Chatham camp, killing five children in April.

The crash killed 7-year-old Alma Buhnerkempe, 7-year-old Kathryn Corley, 8-year-old Ainsley Johnson, 8-year-old Bradley Lund, and 18-year-old Rylee Britton.

In all, ten children were hit.

State's Attorney John Milhiser said evidence showed the driver went through a field and into the side of the YNOT camp building on Breckenridge Road. The investigation uncovered that the driver left work at her normal time and took her normal route home before the crash.

Illinois State Police previously said the driver suffered some type of medical episode that led up to the crash. Milhiser said it was likely a seizure that led to the crash.

Toxicology tests were all negative for drugs and alcohol. The driver was not hurt in the crash.

Milhiser said he declined to pursue charges because the driver did not have the intent to drive into the building, an important factor in deciding if a crime was committed in this case.

Milhiser said the Illinois State Police Traffic Crash Reconstruction Report showed the vehicle left the road and drove through a field, maintaining a speed between 38 and 40 miles per hour. The report showed the driver "applied 100 percent of the accelerator pedal, did not apply the brakes, and the vehicle stability control was engaged."

"An analysis of the event and the stability control concluded that the vehicle remaining at a relatively constant speed was due to the stability control being on and engaged," according to Milhiser in a statement released on Thursday. "This limited the engine throttle percent, thus limiting the wheel speed, and the vehicle's overall ground speed."

"After proceeding through the field, the vehicle gained speed and collided with the YNOT building at approximately 45 miles per hour... As the vehicle proceeded through the building, it collided with approximately ten children who were located inside the building."

Milhiser said a witness said he saw the vehicle as it crossed the field before hitting the building, and said the driver was slumped with arms extended, describing it as though "she was taking a nap," with her head hanging toward the steering wheel.

The first two responders to the vehicle who pulled the driver out said she was unresponsive until they woke her, according to Milhiser. They said she seemed disoriented and had no memory of what had just happened. They said she was confused and that she didn't know where she was.

The medical director from the Illinois State Police said after a review of the results from subsequent tests at the hospital, the driver showed "objective evidence of seizures," but there was no evidence to establish the cause of the seizures.

The driver did have a valid driver's license at the time of the crash. After the crash, her driving privileges were canceled, and they remain canceled, according to Milhiser.

Milhiser said several factors must be considered to establish a criminal offense:

the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the driver had intent to cause the crash
or willfully drove recklessly
or that the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol
or a combination of the above to cause the crash
or that the driver was negligent or reckless in driving because of a known medical condition

Milhiser said there is no evidence to support any of those items.

Last week, WAND News talked to the parents of 18-year-old Britton who was working at the YNOT camp while also interning at Chatham Elementary School.

"Riley was supposed to go to college. She's supposed to become a teacher. She wanted to get married. She wanted to have babies. She wanted to raise her own kids, and we don't get to experience that now," Riley's father Zachery Britton said.

Riley's parents told WAND News they felt left in the dark following the crash and hadn't been given many updates on the case.

The couple is also working with state lawmakers to consider legislation that may prevent future tragedies.

"If something doesn't come about, things do need to change. Our families and our kids and our community they need to feel safe and be safe. Processes need to change," Britton added.

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