Hinsdale 'Complicit' In Car Wash Risks: Victim's Mom

HINSDALE, IL – A Hinsdale woman on Tuesday demanded the village close the car wash where an employee driving a car struck her son, who died three days later.

Kristine Richards, the mother of 14-year-old Sean Patrick Richards, said she had information about four previous crashes involving Fuller's Car Wash, 102 Chicago Ave., since 2007.

She said the village has failed to do anything about the issues, saying it was "complicit."

Fuller's could not be reached for immediate comment Wednesday. The business has not returned Patch's previous messages.

At a Village Board meeting, Kristine and her husband, Brian Richards, addressed the board about their son's tragic death and the need for safety. Others also spoke out.

On July 17, Richards was walking on the sidewalk next to Fuller's from the orthodontist's office to the library when a 16-year-old Fuller's employee hit him. The worker ended up crashing into Fontano's Subs, 9 S. Lincoln St., which is across the street, injuring three people.

"Sean was struck with such force that his shoe came off while it was still tied on. It landed in the middle of Lincoln Street," Kristine told the board.

She said it was at least the fifth car to leave Fuller's uncontrollably in the last 17 years.

In 2007, an employee pressed the accelerator when the car exited the wash and crashed into a pickup truck and Fontano's, Kristine said. Two years later, a car recklessly exited, hitting a car parked in front of a dry cleaner, she said.

"The car flipped and destroyed the front of the dry cleaner, injuring one person and causing lasting trauma to another," Kristine said, her voice shaking at times.

In 2022, two unattended cars rolled out of the car wash exit, she said.

"One of those pinned a woman against the car," Kristine said. "She warned the police that something must be done or there will be a tragedy."

The woman's prediction, Kristine said, became reality the next year.

With each instance, Fuller's got a "free pass" from the village, Kristine said. And she noted the village granted a special use permit for the car wash three decades ago. Without that permit, a car wash would be barred on the property in question, she said.

Kristine also referred to the car wash's use of the sidewalk and parkway for parking, a practice that Google Maps photos document.

Such uses of the right-of-way, she said, were all for Fuller's profit, "pedestrian safety be damned."

"The Village Board is every bit as complicit as Fuller's in ignoring all the warning signs that led up to our 14-year-old son's tragic killing," she said. "There is a complete lack of understanding by this board of the severity and gravity of this tragedy."

On a lawyer's recommendation, she said they sent the village a demand letter to revoke Fuller's permit, shutting down the wash.

Village President Tom Cauley acknowledged receiving it, saying the village's attorney would respond.

"You have my deepest sympathy and from the board too," Cauley told the couple. "I think the whole community is behind you in this."

He also said the village and the family were on the same side.

"We're not enemies here," Cauley said.

He noted the village required Fuller's to put up more bollards than what the business originally did shortly after last year's crash. The village's engineer said the new bollards would be enough; the family's engineer disagreed.

The village allowed Fuller's to wait until spring to install the bollards. The work hasn't happened yet.

Kristine asked why the village allowed the sidewalk in front of Fuller's to remain open before the new bollards were put up, given the danger.

"You've been letting people for these many months risk their lives," she said.

Cauley replied, "I don't know that they have risked their lives."

"Excuse me," Kristine said, "our child died."

Brian Richards said employees are still driving onto sidewalks. The other day, he said he sat nearby for an hour and a half.

"Then they stopped driving on the sidewalks," Brian said.

Kristine also suggested the village hire another engineer to look at the strength of the proposed bollards.

"What engineer is going to say, 'No, I gave you the wrong advice?'" she said.

Cauley said that if it made people happy, the village could hire another engineer to look at the issue. He also said the village would see to it that the new bollards are put up as soon as possible.

Another Hinsdale resident, Tom Rogowski, asked whether the board had the power to shut down Fuller's.

Cauley said Hinsdale did not.

As he left the podium, Rogowski said, "Bought and paid for."