Not A Good Place For Hinsdale Car Wash: Engineer

HINSDALE, IL – Hinsdale should look at revoking the permit for Fuller's Car Wash, 102 Chicago Ave., where an employee driving a car struck and killed a local teen walking on the sidewalk last year, an engineer says.

In an April 26 letter to the Village Board, Melissa Lange of Engineering Resource Associates wrote about Fuller's in light of last July's death of 14-year-old Sean Patrick Richards. A 16-year-old employee was driving a car out of the wash when he struck Richards, police said.

It is unclear how Lange was brought into the matter. Patch left a message for comment with Lange on Monday.

Lange said a full-size car wash typically needs between eight-tenths to 1 acre of land, while Fuller's is on a third of an acre. She said a car occupies a substantial part of the property, leading employees to park cars on the village's sidewalk and buffer zones to complete detailing tasks.

The Richards family and others have pointed to the car wash's 27-year practice of violating the village code by parking customers' cars on the sidewalk. In recent times, the village has issued at least one parking citation. Meanwhile, the business has put up cones to prevent employees from parking on the sidewalk, police said.

For a special-use permit such as the car wash's, the development must have no adverse impact, Lange said.

"Unfortunately, Fuller's Car Wash has been found to have adverse impacts on public safety with multiple car accidents at this location," Lange said. "The limited space available does not allow for proper operation of a car wash without encroaching on public areas such as sidewalks and streets."

Drivers accessing the car wash from Chicago Avenue, a major street, add to the considerable congestion caused by the business' daily work, Lange said.

"This congestion on Chicago Avenue violates the conditions set forth in the Special Use permit," the engineer said.

She also questioned the bollards that the car wash installed without a building permit shortly after last year's crash. Based on advice from its engineer, Hinsdale has required additional bollards for safety, which the village expects to happen soon.

The Richards family hired an engineer who said the planned bollards weren't enough to prevent a crash into a pedestrian.

Despite requests to reconsider Fuller's permit, the Village Board has given no indication it plans to do so. Village President Tom Cauley has expressed confidence in the village engineer's advice.

Fuller's, which has a chain of car washes in the suburbs, has not returned messages for comment.