Chatham, IL (WAND) – September will mark five months since five children were killed at the YNOT Afterschool Program in Chatham.
“I felt like literally my world had been shattered, everything I had looked forward to had been lost in a matter of minutes,” Christine Britton told WAND News. Her daughter Rylee Britton was among those killed.
Ainsley Johnson, Kathryn Corley, Alma Buhnerkempe and Bradley Lund were all killed in the crash. Five other children were also injured on April 28, 2025.
“I’m just asking, ‘Where’s my kid? Where’s my kid?’ The press conference was at five. The coroner didn’t come until about six and tell us that we had lost our child,” Christine Britton said.
Christine said the Sangamon County Coroner broke the news to her family, shattering their world.
“The idea that kids can go off to school and go to what they believe to be a safe environment and not come home—it’s tragic,” Zachery Britton explained.
Rylee was just days away from attending prom and graduating from Glenwood High School.
“It was really hard to get that news because I was looking forward to it so much. I was looking forward to just prom. The end of the week, we had shopped for her job, her dress together,” Christine Britton said.
Their grief is now marked by milestones and memories that will never be.
“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,” Zachery Britton said.
Christine said even as a little girl, Rylee loved playing pretend school and being around children. She was a tutor, babysitter and dreamed of being a teacher like her mom.
“She’d tell my mom, she’d tell me, ‘When I grow up, I’m going to be a teacher.’ And when she was very small, she would tell me we were going to teach at Chatham Elementary together. That was her dream,” Christine Britton said.
Rylee was on track to pursue that dream, heading to the University of Iowa. She was interning at Chatham Elementary School and working for the YNOT After School Program last spring. At the end of each school day, she would stop by her mom’s classroom.
“The last thing she said to me was, well, ‘I better go to work, see you later. See you after work.’ And she waved at me, and she bebopped down the hallway, and I had never, ever thought that was going to be the last time I see her. Because if I knew that that was the last time that I was going to see her, I would have hugged her and told her how much I loved her,” Christine Britton said.
The Brittons said months later, they still do not know how the crash happened.
“We do understand it’s an ongoing investigation, but when we don’t hear any news or any information and there’s no update, it’s hard to believe the right things are happening,” Zachery Britton said.
They said the families of the victims have been left in the dark about the investigation and want to know whether charges will be filed.
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,” Zachery Britton added.
The Brittons said they are advocating for other children as their way to honor their daughter, nicknamed Riley Roo.
“We have to live. We get to live on, and we want to make sure we’re doing the right things with our lives moving forward,” Zachery Britton said.
WAND News reached out to Sangamon County State’s Attorney to ask if charges will be filed against the driver, Marianne Akers. Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser said in a statement: “My heart breaks for the families involved in this unimaginable tragedy. We continue to work with the Illinois State Police to ensure a thorough and complete investigation.”
The Britton family also reached out to the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office. In an email, the office’s Senior Legal Advisor said Akers’ driver’s license has been cancelled. The email goes on to say:
“Despite the fact that formal charges have not been filed, the driver’s license of the individual involved in the crash has been cancelled, and state law prohibits them from regaining their driving privileges until undergoing and successfully completing the medical review process administered through our office.
“While the Secretary of State’s office is prohibited from providing any specific medical information regarding the driver, we can provide general information regarding the process required to reinstate a driver’s license under these circumstances.
“It will require submission of a medical report from a physician stating the driver is medically fit to drive and may include review of that report by the Secretary of State’s medical advisory board, which is made up of licensed physicians. In cases involving drivers who suffer medical episodes, such as a seizure or other loss of consciousness, the medical advisory board often requires a waiting period that demonstrates the driver has not experienced any seizures during a specific time period (often times six months) for someone to regain their driving privileges.
“In many cases involving a driver who has been ticketed or charged with a crash resulting in serious injury or death, they remain behind the wheel and can legally drive awaiting their trail. The Secretary of State cannot – under the law – revoke a driver’s license during this time. However, the local state’s attorney – in this case, the Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s Office – does have the authority to request that our office revoke a driver’s license while a citation/charge is pending.
“While no formal charges have been made in the case involving your daughter’s crash, this is an avenue you could choose to pursue once they have been filed and even while the individual’s driver’s license remains cancelled.”
