Man Sues Hinsdale, Car Wash Over 2023 Crash

HINSDALE, IL – A man sued Fuller's Car Wash and the village of Hinsdale earlier this year over a crash that he said injured him while he was dining at a restaurant.

On July 17, 2023, an employee of Fuller's, 102 Chicago Ave., crashed into Sean Patrick Richards, 14, of Hinsdale, who was walking on the sidewalk in front of the business. He died a few days later.

The driver then crashed into Fontano's, injuring customers, police said. Three of them sued the car wash shortly after.

In April in Cook County Circuit Court, Edwin Johnson sued the Fuller's, the village and Fontano's over his injuries. He did not detail his injuries.

According to the lawsuit, Fuller's knew about the problem of cars leaving the wash, proceeding over the curb, through the sidewalk and onto Lincoln Street, where Fontano's is

The lawsuit made assertions about two crashes over the last 17 years.

• In July 2007, a Jeep Grand Cherokee owned by Diana Newlin was taken to the car wash. As it was leaving, an employee pressed the accelerator, causing the car to jump the curb, cross Lincoln and crash into a pickup truck in front of Fontano's, totaling the Jeep. Fuller's covered the costs.
• A year before the July 2023 crash, two cars rolled out of Fuller's, crossed Lincoln and T-boned a car owned by Lauri Aldrich, which was parked outside of Fontano's. The car wash was told at the time that many bikers and pedestrians pass by Fuller's exit all day long and that something needed to be done to make the area safer.

At the time, Fuller's took no action to build barriers that would stop cars from leaving the wash and going onto Lincoln. It did so last spring, nearly a year after the fatal crash.

The lawsuit also contended the car wash hired inexperienced drivers. The employee behind the wheel in the July 2023 crash was 16.

As for Hinsdale, the lawsuit said the village had a duty to maintain the intersection between Fuller's and Fontano's. The village was on notice since 2007 of at least two previous crashes.

Johnson also sued Fontano's, saying the restaurant had a duty to make sure its diners were safe. The lawsuit said the restaurant knew about the crash history.

Johnson is represented by La Grange Park attorney Adeena Weiss Ortiz. Patch left a message for comment with her on Monday morning.

Fuller's, which is part of a Chicago area chain of car washes, has not returned messages since the crash. Meanwhile, Village President Tom Cauley has repeatedly defended the village's handling of the situation in response to criticism.