An SUV crashed into the YNOT After-School Camp in Chatham, Illinois, on April 28, 2025, killing four students and injuring six others. Authorities have identified the driver as Chatham resident Marianne Akers. Investigations into the motive behind the crash are ongoing.
According to Chatham police, Akers drove her SUV through the east wall of the after-school camp building at approximately 3:20 p.m. The vehicle continued through the building and exited through the west wall. Illinois State Police reported that three of the deceased victims were outside the building. One was inside at the time of the crash.
The victims, all female students, ranged in age from 4 to 18 years old. At least six other individuals sustained injuries, with one person airlifted to a hospital for treatment.
Akers was the only person in the SUV
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) April 29, 2025
Reports also say Akers, 44, the sole occupant of the SUV, was uninjured in the crash. Afterward, authorities transported Akers to a local hospital for evaluation. Authorities have not yet announced any charges or arrests related to the incident. The motive behind Akers’s actions remains under investigation. Officials have not released further details at this time. Akers’ toxicology report is pending.
“I cannot gather the words to express much of anything that will make sense in print,” YNOT Outdoors co-founder Jamie Loftus said in a social statement after the wreck. “However, I do know that our families who suffered loss and injury today are hurting very, very badly. They are friends and their kids are like our kids,” Loftus said.
After the crash, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker expressed his condolences, stating, “I am horrified and deeply saddened by the deaths of children and numerous injuries in Chatham this afternoon. Our community lost a group of bright and innocent young people with their whole lives ahead of them. Parents said goodbye to their kids this morning, not knowing it would be the last time.”
Pritzker added that the Illinois State Police are working with the Chatham Police Department, about 12 miles outside Springfield, Illinois, to investigate the incident and will provide more information as it becomes available.
Published: Apr 29, 2025 11:54 am