The families of four children and a teenage camp counselor killed after a car plowed through an after-school program allege the freak accident could have been avoided.
Marianne Akers, 44, rammed her SUV straight through the YNOT Outdoors Summer and After School Camp in Chatham, southern Illinois, on April 28 last year.
She had been driving down a county highway when she veered off the road, drove through a cornfield and crashed through a wall at the camp.
The collision killed Kathryn Corley, Alma Buhnerkempe, both seven, Bradley James Lund, Ainsley Johnson, both eight, and 18-year-old Rylee Britton. At least six other children were severely injured.
Their families have now filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Akers and YNOT bosses James R Loftus and Mitzi Loftus Trust.
Akers acted with negligence after she failed to stop her vehicle to avoid hitting the building, according to the lawsuit obtained by the Daily Mail.
The families further accused YNOT of violating state safety codes that prohibit permanent youth camps from being located within 100 feet of a highway, the complaint said.
The camp also allegedly did not have adequate means installed to prevent a vehicle from striking the building, leaving areas where ‘children were routinely present and vulnerable to foreseeable harm.’
Mother-of-two Marianne Akers, 44, rammed her SUV straight through the YNOT Outdoors Summer and After School Camp in Chatham on April 28 last year
She had been driving down a county highway when she veered off the road, drove through a cornfield and crashed through a wall at the camp
The lawsuit further accuses YNOT of failing to make ‘proper structural changes and improvements’ to its building since its construction in 2012.
‘No family should ever have to endure the unimaginable loss of a child. Kathryn, Alma, Bradley, Ainsley and Rylee had their whole lives ahead of them,’ said Lance D Northcutt, the attorney for the families.
‘Chatham is a tight-knit community and this tragedy has deeply affected countless families. These children were irreplaceable.’
The families are seeking ‘accountability for this profound loss’ and ‘meaningful safety improvements to prevent a tragedy like this from ever happening again,’ he added.
The lawsuit comes nearly one year after the fatal crash, which did not result in any charges against Akers.
Britton, Corley, Buhnerkempe and Johnson were pronounced dead at the scene. Lund died on June 2 after spending weeks in the hospital.
The coroner ruled that all five died from multiple blunt force injuries sustained in the accident.
Akers’s attorney, W Scott Hanken, previously said that she suffered a seizure before the crash.
The crash killed four students and an after-school camp counselor, 18-year-old Rylee Britton
The crash killed Kathryn Corley and Alma Buhnerkempe, both seven
Bradley James Lund and Ainsley Johnson, both eight, were also killed
‘It rendered her completely and utterly incapacitated at the time, and as a result of that seizure, she has no recollection of what occurred,’ Hanken told local media last year.
Illinois State Police said Akers’s vehicle left the road at around 3.20pm and traveled through a field before crashing into the east side of the YNOT After School Camp, which stands for Youth Needing Other Things Outdoors.
Akers’s Jeep then crossed a gravel road and crashed into a pole and a fence. She was transported to a local hospital but was uninjured and released.
She tested negative for drugs or alcohol and was not under the influence when she veered off the road ‘a substantial distance’ away, police said.
Akers was a food service worker at Chatham Elementary School and is a mother of a teenage boy and a girl.
She had been working for the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Business Services at the time of the crash.
She previously worked for the Illinois State Police from June 2006 to August 2018 but was not an officer.
Britton was a high school student who helped run the after-school program. She was planning on studying English and secondary education at the University of Iowa.
Britton was a high school student who helped run the after-school program. She was planning on studying English and secondary education at the University of Iowa
Akers was taken into custody at the scene and taken to hospital, but was uninjured and released. The crash did not result in any charges against her
Her classmates described her as ‘super intelligent’ and ‘unconditionally nice,’ adding that she ‘always made people laugh.’
Johnson was a dancer at Studio M Dance Centre. Her instructor, Mariah Clark, said she always ‘brought so much light and joy into my class.’
‘Her smile was so bright, her personality was already so big at such a young age, and she danced like she meant it. I will forever keep Ainsley in my heart,’ Clark added.
Corley went by the nickname Kit Kat and was described in her obituary as ‘brightening the lives of everyone she encountered with her loving nature and unforgettable personality.’
‘Alma came into this world exactly how she lived – in a burst of activity,’ the seven-year-old’s obituary read.
‘From that point on, she never stopped. She lit up our world with an infectious energy, a goofy sense of humor, and a sense of compassion that was boundless.’
Lund’s family said the second-grader would be remembered for his ‘bright smile, contagious laughter, and kind spirit.’
‘Bradley had a heart full of wonder and a boundless capacity for joy. He found comfort in story time snuggles with his mom and brought happiness to every life he touched,’ his obituary said.
YNOT camp appears to remain operational, with its website promoting the cost of upcoming summer tuition. Its owners declined to comment.
The Daily Mail has also approached Akers’s attorney for comment.
