(CAPITOL CITY NOW) – The five children who died in the crash of a Jeep into a Chatham after-school program almost a year ago were great people whom nobody will ever get to know, said a lawyer announcing a lawsuit Wednesday.
Almost one year after a Jeep crashed through the Y-NOT center in Chatham, the estates of the five children killed are suing Y-NOT, the builders of its facility, and driver Marianne Akers.
Akers, who was not charged criminally, apparently suffered a medical episode when she drove off E. Walnut St. in Chatham and through the building April 28, 2025, killing four children that day. A fifth child died of his injuries five weeks later.
A Chicago law firm is representing the plaintiffs. One of the attorneys, Lance Northcutt, said in a news release, “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.”
The suit says the facility, built in 2012, was not the required 100 feet from the roadway. Instead, it was 77.
What’s more, at a Chicago news conference Wednesday afternoon, Northcutt said the Y-NOT structure is no more than a flimsy, cheaply constructed shed with no protection against an attack such as that which Akers’ Jeep waged upon it. Northcutt said a recent trip to Chatham revealed that – almost a year later – there remains no barrier, save for some rocks perhaps a foot high.
Something which also could have helped but which remain absent, Northcutt said, are windows which could have provided the victims some warning of the impending attack.
The children killed April 28 were Ainsley Johnson, 8; Kathryn Corley, 7; and Alma Buhnerkempe, 7; all of Chatham. Also killed was counselor Rylee Britton, 18, of Springfield. Bradley Lund, 8, of Springfield, died five weeks later.
A candlelight vigil is scheduled for Saturday at 4 p.m. at Chatham Baptist Church.
