Missing Hinsdale Crash Report Surfaces
HINSDALE, IL – The mother of a boy who was killed in a crash outside Fuller’s Car Wash last year said Tuesday she obtained a police report of a previous crash that Hinsdale officials did not have.
At a Village Board meeting, Kristine Richards, mother of the late 14-year-old Sean Patrick Richards, said the village could not find the document in response to a public records request and a subpoena.
“Somehow, it disappeared,” Richards said. “There are only two possible explanations for this – incompetence or corruption. Which one is it?”
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On July 17, 2023, the younger Richards was walking on the sidewalk in front of Fuller’s when an employee driving a car struck him, crossed the street and crashed into Fontano’s restaurant, injuring customers. The boy died days later.
In the October 2007 crash, an employee at Fuller’s, 102 Chicago Ave., recklessly exited the car wash at a high speed, crossed the sidewalk and totaled a car owned by Diana Newlin in front of Fontano’s, Kristine Richards said.
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At a May board meeting, the village revealed details on four crashes involving Fuller’s that have occurred over the 16 years before the boy’s death. The one involving Newlin’s car was not included.
“Ms. Newlin came forward and said she was in an incident,” Richards said. “How many more traffic violations and accident citations are missing? How many actually did happen at that site that seem to have disappeared?”
Newlin was at the meeting, but did not speak.
Village President Tom Cauley asked for the report.
“If we have incomplete records, I’d like to find it. So if you have a police report, you can share it with the police chief. I’d love to see it,” Cauley said.
In her comments, Richards called for accountability for Fuller’s, which owns a chain of Chicago-area car washes. The local car wash has faced no fines or other penalties, despite its history of crashes and parking on the sidewalk, she said.
She noted nearly 1,000 people have signed a petition calling for the village to revoke Fuller’s special use permit, which Cauley has said Hinsdale has no legal power to do.
“I’m tired of the board’s excuses and apologies for inaction,” Richards said.
Richards asked Hinsdale to investigate how the repeated Fuller’s crashes were allowed to happen on the village’s watch, reduce the business’ curb cuts along the street and issue a statement that her son’s death should never have been allowed to happen.
Also, she said Fuller’s has damaged the sidewalks in front of its business, making them slippery. The village, she said, should require the car wash to replace the sidewalks at its expense.
Fuller’s has not returned messages from Patch since the 2023 fatal crash.
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