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Nearly 11 months after a catastrophic car crash outside Fuller’s Car Wash, the owner considers closing the business a condition of a settlement with the family of 14-year-old, Sean Patrick Richards, who was struck and killed by a car exiting the car wash, Hinsdale Village Board President Thomas Cauley said during a June 11 trustees meeting.
Cauley’s comments were responding to calls by Sean’s father, Brian Richards, to revoke the car wash’s special use permit effectively removing the business’s ability to operate in Hinsdale.
A week after the July 17 crash, three of the victims injured while dining at Fontano’s Subs, across the street from Fullers, filed a lawsuit with GWC Injury Lawyers LLC. against the car wash’s owners for negligence, with each count of calling for $50,000 plus the cost of the lawsuit.
In December, the Richards family filed a similar lawsuit with Clifford Law Offices seeking damages in excess of $50,000 for negligence, citing multiple crashes involving cars exiting the car wash since 2007, arguing that the business should have implemented safeguards to prevent further accidents.
For months the Richards family and other community members have petitioned the village board to enact greater safety measures around Fullers, including the installation of crash-tested bollards and safety signs along Lincoln Street.
The end goal, however, is the permanent closure of Fullers Car Wash in Hinsdale. When asked by Cauley if his goal was to have Fuller’s Car Wash shut down, Brian Richards said “absolutely.”
Richards said they are seeking “the truth, accountability, and public safety … that includes Doug Fuller [the owner of Fullers Car Wash] writing a check for killing my son, that includes him having a tangible reminder every day of the pain that he has caused.”
The Fullers, before receiving approval from the Village, installed a series of safety bollards outside the business in July, not long after the village board approved the zoning of additional bollards that, according to engineers hired by the Village, could withstand the force of a pickup truck going 40 miles-per-hour.
According to Cauley, Doug Fuller questioned spending upwards of $100,000 on safety measures if the goal is the business’s closure.
“It just can’t be life goes on,” Richards said. “I think you should assume we’re not going to settle.”
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George Wiebe , 2024-06-18 00:32:55
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