A tragic crash in Chatham, Illinois, left four young people dead and six others injured Monday after a car drove through an after-school facility.
Illinois State Police say there is no indication the incident was a targeted attack, though the cause remains under investigation.
The crash occurred around 3:20 p.m. at YNOT Outdoors, a local after-school program located just south of Springfield, Illinois. According to investigators, a vehicle veered off the road for unknown reasons, crossed a field, and slammed into the building—striking multiple children inside—before exiting out the other side.
The four victims were identified by the Sangamon County Coroner’s Office as three young girls from Chatham: Alma Buhnerkempe and Kathryn Corley, both 7, and Ainsley Johnson, 8. The fourth fatality was Rylee Britton, an 18-year-old from Springfield. All were remembered by friends and family as vibrant, kind, and full of life.
Alma’s mother described her daughter as a “ray of sunshine” who adored sports, travel, and her family—especially her younger brother, Will, who has autism. “She loved and supported him the only way a big sister could,” said her mother, Billie Buhnerkempe.
The driver, 44-year-old Marianne Akers of Chatham, was the sole occupant of the vehicle.