Crash occurred less than 2 years after deadly April 2025 collision
CHATHAM, Ill. (August 12, 2026) – A vehicle crashed near the YNOT After School Camp in Chatham, Ill. Tuesday morning, marking the second vehicle-related incident at the property in less than two years. In April 2025, four children and 18-year-old camp counselor were killed when a driver crashed through the side of the building.
According to a Facebook post from YNOT’s administrators, around 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, an elderly couple lost control of their vehicle due to a medical issue and struck a utility pole and concrete post near the building. No children were reportedly injured in Tuesday’s crash, and the couple was not transported to a hospital.
Tuesday’s crash is a harrowing reminder of the tragedy that occurred at the same location on April 28, 2025, when a 44-year-old woman drove off County Highway 5A, traveled through a cornfield, and crashed into a thin outer wall on the east side of the YNOT camp. The collision claimed the lives of 7-year-old Kathryn Corley, 7-year-old Alma Buhnerkempe, 8-year-old Bradley James Lund, 8-year-old Ainsley Johnson, and 18-year-old camp counselor Rylee Britton. At least six other children were severely injured in the incident and numerous children witnessed the tragedy unfold from just feet away.
Following the fatal 2025 crash, concrete posts were erected along the side of the building where the car crashed through.
In April 2026, a lawsuit was filed in Sangamon County Court against the YNOT program and other parties believed responsible for the construction and safety of the building, as well as the driver. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the five decedents and four surviving children who suffered physical injuries and emotional trauma. Please click here to read more about lawsuit.
Attorney Lance D. Northcutt of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard, who represents the families of the children who were killed or injured in the 2025 incident, released a statement following Tuesday’s collision at YNOT:
“Yesterday, yet another unimaginable tragedy was narrowly avoided by sheer chance, as the same dangerous conditions at the YNOT facility that were present in April 2025 have largely remained unchanged. The many families whose lives were upended by the senseless deaths of five children and the harm to so many others have been retraumatized.”
The families of the children who were killed in the 2025 incident are also represented by attorneys Aaron D. Boeder, Michael J. Schostok, and Marisa A. Gelabert of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard, and Frederick W. Nessler and Jonathan T. Nessler of Frederick W. Nessler & Associates.
For more information, please contact Marcie Mangan at (312) 372-1227 or mmangan@salvilaw.com.
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