Hinsdale Car Wash Barriers Questioned

HINSDALE, IL – An engineer is questioning the barriers that were placed outside a Hinsdale car wash after an employee struck and killed 14-year-old Sean Patrick Richards last year.

In the days after the July crash, Fuller's Car Wash, 102 Chicago Ave., installed concrete-filled bollards. The goal was to prevent another fatal crash.

The bollards were installed without the village's approval. Last week, the Village Board approved the bollards but required even more. Officials said the additional bollards were based on an engineer's analysis.

However, Richards' father, Brian Richards of Hinsdale, got a civil engineer to review the information. The engineer, Michael Brackin of Bryan, Texas, said the bollards may not be good enough to achieve the goal of protecting people.

At last week's board meeting, Village President Tom Cauley noted Brackin's email to the village. Upon Patch's request, Brian Richards released it.

In the email, Brackin said the bollards could stop a car going 10 to 15 mph, but certainly not one going 30 or 35 mph.

"While I’m confident these bollards would be capable of arresting a design vehicle traveling 10 mph, the only way to know if they would be capable of working at greater speeds would be to perform a full-scale crash test," the engineer said.

At Fuller's expense, the village hired engineering firm HR Green to examine the bollards. The firm's analysis prompted the request for more bollards, officials said.

Brackin said HR Green used specifications for barriers such as bridge railings, which are for impact angles of 15 and 25 degrees. Those design criteria are "wholly irrelevant" to bollards, he said.

Barriers such as bridge railings are meant to redirect traffic, while bollards are designed to stop cars in a short distance, he said.

Two bollards would not be enough to stop a typical passenger pickup truck traveling 30 mph, Brackin said. This assessment, he said, was based on his full-scale crash testing over the years for product development.

"It is a common misnomer that concrete-filled bollards are stronger than their non-filled counterparts," Brackin said. "Concrete-filled bollards do not allow the bollard to deform in a manner that more efficiently absorbs energy (i.e. develop a plastic hinge at grade)."

Brackin said he hoped to provide a more in-depth report later.

At last week's meeting, Village President Cauley said he forwarded Brackin's email to HR Green. Also, a resident told officials that she had seen repeated violations at Fuller's.

Fuller's did not return a message for comment.

On July 17, a 16-year-old Fuller's employee struck 14-year-old Sean Patrick Richards, who died three days later. The worker ended up crashing into Fontano's Subs, 9 S. Lincoln St., which is across the street.

After the investigation, the 16-year-old received three traffic citations, but was not criminally charged.