Findings In Crash That Killed Hinsdale Boy

HINSDALE, IL – The car wash employee in Hinsdale who drove the car that killed a 14-year-old boy last summer was charged with three traffic violations, but not any criminal offenses, authorities said Wednesday.

On July 17, the 16-year-old Fuller's Car Wash employee struck Sean Patrick Richards of Hinsdale, who died three days later. The worker ended up crashing into Fontano's Subs, 9 S. Lincoln St., which is across the street.

In a statement, DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin and Hinsdale Police Chief Brian King said police could find no intent to harm anyone or reckless driving.

They said they would offer no opinion on the civil liability in the case.

The 16-year-old was charged with failure to exercise due care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian, failure to yield the right of way to a pedestrian on a sidewalk and failure to decrease speed to avoid colliding with a person.

According to the statement, the 16-year-old entered the car at the end of the car wash cycle and proceeded to exit the car wash tunnel.

As he exited, he pressed the accelerator pedal to full depression, believing he was pressing on the brake pedal, police said.

The car's data recorder found the brake pedal was never pressed, police said. After hitting Richards, braking was engaged by the car's electronic stability program about eight-tenths of a second before the car struck the business, police said.

No amount of drugs or alcohol was found in the 16-year-old's blood or urine, police said

The officials said their agencies and a countywide crash investigation team conducted a "meticulously thorough and complete" inquiry into the facts and circumstances.

"The tragic death of Sean Richards was a horrible accident, and the subsequent investigation was particularly difficult for those involved," the officials said.