Among the children killed when a vehicle crashed through an Illinois daycare Monday were 8-year-old Ainsley Grace Johnson, also known as “Squirt,” and 7-year-old Alma Buhnerkempe.
The young girls from Chatham, Illinois, were among three young children and a teenager who lost their lives when a vehicle driven by a 44-year-old woman, smashed into the daycare and after-school care center and exited out the other side.
“She was larger than life and will forever leave a void in our broken hearts,” Ainsley’s father, Todd Johnson, said in a statement to NBC Tuesday.
Similarly, Alma’s family said she was a “ray of sunshine everywhere she went.”
“She was sweet, outgoing, silly, and funny. She loved her friends and family fiercely,” her mom Billie Buhnerkempe told NBC. “She loved playing soccer, basketball, and doing gymnastics. She loved to travel, and went to 17 states in her short life. Her brother Will has autism, and she loved and supported him the only way a big sister could.”
Also among those killed were Rylee Britton, 18, of Springfield, and Kathryn Corley, 7, of Chatham.
The founder of Y.N.O.T. Outdoors, Jamie Loftus, said in a statement the “unforetold tragedy” began just before 3:30 p.m. Monday when “a large SUV vehicle, travelling westbound on Walnut, through Chatham, left Walnut Street, at a substantial distance away from YNOT.”
“It travelled through a 78-acre farm field, arcing into a path that security cameras observed, showed it heading to our building at a high rate of speed,” Loftus wrote. “With no apparent attempt to alter its direction, the vehicle crossed North Breckenridge and the sidewalk, continuing into our parking lot and into the East wall of our building. The vehicle exited the building on the West side, crossing the gravel road access to the Chatham Water Tower, then lodging itself against a power-pole and ballfield fence.”
According to ISP, the car struck numerous individuals before exiting out the other side of the building.
The driver, who was the only person inside the vehicle at the time, was not injured in the incident but was transported to an area hospital for evaluation. Toxicology reports were pending, officials said.
According to police, the driver was not in custody as of Tuesday morning and the cause of the crash remained under investigation.
Six additional children were taken to a nearby hospital with injuries, ISP said. At least one remained in critical condition.
“I cannot gather the words to express much of anything that will make sense in print. However, I do know that our families who suffered loss and injury today, are hurting very, very badly,” Loftus wrote. “They are friends and their kids are like our kids. The Village of Chatham and Ball Chatham Schools are going to need their populations and that of the outside world to love them, pray for them, think of them and, at the same time, give them space and respect.”
In a Facebook Post, the Chatham Police Department called the incident a “terrible tragedy.”
“If you believe in the power of prayer, please take a moment to pray right now for the entire Chatham community,” the post said.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said his office was closely monitoring developments.
“I am horrified and deeply saddened by the deaths of children and numerous injuries in Chatham this afternoon. Our community lost a group of bright and innocent young people with their whole lives ahead of them,” he said in a statement. “Parents said goodbye to their kids this morning not knowing it would be the last time. My heart is heavy for these families and the unimaginable grief they’re experiencing – something that no parent should ever have to endure. MK and I extend our prayers and deepest condolences to everyone impacted by this unspeakable tragedy.”
Chatham, Illinois, near Springfield, is located approximately 220 miles southwest of Chicago.
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