CHATHAM, Ill. — Four people from the age of 18 to the age of 4 were killed when a car smashed into a building which housed an after-school program in Chatham, Illinois.
Illinois State Police said that the incident did “not appear to be a targeted attack,” with local police saying it was a “terrible tragedy.”
Update 2:56 p.m. ET, May 1: Illinois State Police said that the 44-year-old female driver may have had a medical emergency and was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash, conclusive reported.
The driver was not hurt and is not in custody, State Police Director Brendan Kelly said on Thursday.
Kelly said that the evidence of a medical emergency was “not conclusive” and the investigation is ongoing.
Police earlier in the week identified those who were killed as Rylee Britton, 18; Ainsley Johnson, 8; Kathryn Corley, 7; and Alma Buhnerkempe, 7, the AP reported.
Original report: Illinois State Police said the driver, who was the only one in the car, “left the road for unknown reasons,” traveled through a field and hit the Y.N.O.T. Outdoors Summer and After School Camp. The car went through the building, hitting several people, many of them young children, before exiting the structure on the other side, WMAQ reported.
The crash happened around 3:20 p.m. local time.
Two 7-year-old students, an 8-year-old and an 18-year-old were all killed. Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon said they were “female students” but did not release their names until all family members were notified.
Six other children were taken to an area hospital with injuries. At least one was in critical condition.
The driver was not hurt but was taken to a hospital for evaluation and toxicology reports were pending, state police said. Police did not say whether the driver was arrested or taken into custody, according to The Associated Press.
Chatham, Illinois, is about 12 miles south of Springfield, Illinois, and has about 14,500 people in the village, The New York Times reported.
YNOT Outdoors stands for “Youth Needing Other Things.” It was started in 2002 as a place for “parents to place their kids into a safe, fun, active and stimulating summer environment, while maintaining a dependable drop-off & pickup location,” according to the organization’s website.