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| Van Carrying Inmates' Relatives Crashes; Two Children Killed |
| By Chicago Tribune |
| Published: 07/21/2003 |
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A packed charter van carrying family members of Illinois inmates to Downstate prisons overturned on Interstate Highway 57 early Saturday, ejecting 16 of the 18 passengers and leaving two young boys dead. The extended Dodge van appeared to be designed to carry only 12 to 15 people and likely was overloaded, said Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Scott Koerner. 'We have found no child-restraint devices at all,' he said. Family members identified one of the victims as 8-month-old Desmond Brown Jr. of Chicago. Another boy, age 3, was also killed. At least five people were reported in critical condition Sunday. Police said the driver lost control of the southbound van about 8 a.m. and veered off the highway just north of Ashkum near Kankakee. The van struck a large highway sign that sheared off the roof as the van rolled through a ditch and onto a frontage road, police said. 'The vehicle definitely went off the left shoulder a little bit and it appears [the driver] overcorrected, losing control and going into the right ditch,' he said. Five people, including Desmond's sister Destiny, 2, were airlifted to University of Chicago Hospitals and Loyola Medical Center. The others were treated at Kankakee hospitals. State police said the driver was treated at a Kankakee hospital and released before being questioned. Koerner said the van's owner is George W. Willis of the 9300 block of Parnell Avenue in Chicago. Willis, who was not driving the van, declined to comment Saturday. Public records show Willis Bus Service is no longer registered with the secretary of state, though a spokeswoman for the office said that would not prevent the service from operating legally. Seven inmates at Centralia Correctional Center and Big Muddy River Correctional Center in Ina were awaiting the visitors traveling in the van, corrections officials said. All were notified of the accident, they said. In the hours following the accident, relatives of victims gathered in hospital parking lots and wondered why more steps were not taken to protect the safety of their loved ones. 'You know they have kids in there; you have to get safety equipment,' said Desmond's cousin, Sam Brown. |
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