No Criminal Charges To Be Filed In Beach Park Ammonia Spill

WAUKEGAN, IL — Prosecutors decided not to file any criminal charges in connection with the leak of anhydrous ammonia in Beach Park that sent dozens of people to the hospital. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, hundreds of gallons of the fertilizer in compressed liquid form was released around 4:30 a.m. April 25 as a tractor pulled a pair of tanks down Green Bay Road. The spill created a toxic plume that left 41 people injured, including 11 first responders, and triggered a "shelter-in-place" warning for residents within a one-mile radius.

The decision by the Lake County State's Attorney's Office means that neither a 59-year-old Racine County man who was driving the tractor towing a pair of tanks of the chemical, nor his employers from Pleasant Prairie-based John Kevek Farms, will face criminal liability for the incident.

Both the driver and his employer have been named in civil suits alleging negligence, a public nuisance and willful and wanton conduct. But Illinois does not have a criminal statute that covers negligent behavior, according to Sgt. Chris Covelli of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Lake County State's Attorney Mike Nerheim told the Lake County News-Sun his office determined the driver's conduct did not reach the higher standard required for the offense of reckless conduct.

"While the conduct of the worker may have been negligent, it didn't rise to the level of criminal conduct," Nerheim said.

Three lawsuits were filed last month in Lake County Circuit Court on behalf of seven plaintiffs alleging both the driver and his employer were negligent. Plaintiffs in the suit include a firefighter and sheriff's deputy.

According to one of the complaints, people exposed to the gas cloud suffered serious and preventable injuries due to John Kevek Farms and the driver's "carelessness and utter disregard when transporting anhydrous ammonia, allowing it to leak into the atmosphere wreaking havoc."

Earlier this month, the National Transportation Safety Board announced preliminary findings from its investigation into the incident.

The driver reported he was driving the tractor between farm fields with an "applicator tool bar" for applying the fertilizer when he heard a "puff" sound, according to the NTSB. He turned around to see a gas cloud and managed to escape without injury. State law forbids keeping the tank and tool bar connected with a transfer hose during transit.

The federal transportation safety agency said emergency personnel were initially dispatched to a report of a car fire with an injured person in the street. Several Beach Park firefighters, who were first to arrive on scene, were exposed to the gas immediately and later taken to the hospital.

A regional hazardous material team from the Lake Forest Fire Department was able to get close enough to the tractor to find that the tanks had an open shut-off valve and a disconnected liquid supply hose.

Related:

• Beach Park Chemical Leak Lawsuits Filed Against Driver, Employer
• Finding Beach Park Chemical Spill Cause Could Take Days Or Weeks
• 2 People Still Hospitalized From Beach Park Ammonia Leak: Sheriff
• Health Department: Beach Park Chemical Spill Health Investigations Continue