Brian Richards was living his dream of “being a father in a complete and wonderful family.”
“Unfortunately, that dream turned into a nightmare on a sunny summer day in Hinsdale,” when a Fuller’s car wash employee drove a Jeep Wrangler out of the car wash at a high rate of speed and struck and killed his son, 14-year-old Sean Richards, as he walked along the sidewalk. The driver then slammed into Fontano’s Subs across the street.
“We are, and always will be, completely heartbroken and devastated by Sean’s killing. A large part of us was killed that day along with Sean,” Brian Richards said.
The teen’s July death was a “predictable tragedy that was clearly avoidable,” Bradley Cosgrove, a lawyer for the Richards family, said Wednesday in announcing a lawsuit against Fuller’s.
Two similar incidents where drivers lost control of a car while exiting the downtown Hinsdale Fuller’s have occurred since 2007. In both cases, other cars were damaged, but no one was hurt, the lawsuit states.
Cosgrove said no safety barriers had been placed at the exit to the car wash until concrete bollards were installed weeks after Sean’s death.
“Why did it take our young son’s death for them to take any action to protect the public, especially given their knowledge of prior incidents at this site?” asked Sean’s mother, Kristine Richards.
She witnessed the accident on July 17 as she was on her way to meet Sean at the library. She described seeing the Jeep “fly out like a bullet” from the car wash. She lost sight of her son as the car sped across the street, jumped the curb and rammed into the sandwich shop. Kristine Richards then rushed to help Sean and held him while calling for help, Brian Richards said.
Sean died three days later at a hospital.
“Sean was a friend to all,” his father said, adding that he was a swimmer and a Boy Scout. “Sean had the unique ability to make those around him better people and at the same time make them feel better about themselves. He was sunshine, goodness and a positive influence on everyone around him.”
The driver of the Jeep, a 16-year-old Fuller’s employee, did not face criminal charges, but he was issued three traffic citations: failure to yield to a pedestrian on a sidewalk, failure to exercise due care and failure to reduce speed. His case is pending in DuPage County court.
No additional driver’s license is required for a 16-year-old to operate vehicles at a car wash, but attorneys for the Richards family argue that car wash industry standards “dictate that a 16-year-old shouldn’t be put behind the wheel of a vehicle.”
Fuller’s issued a statement Wednesday saying the legal process “does not change our heavy hearts and the grief we feel for the Richards family and the other families affected by this incident.
“While we cannot fathom what they are going through, we pray for the Richards family, all of those injured, and our entire community,” said Fuller’s, which operates more than 20 locations in Chicago and the suburbs. “The depth of this tragedy is felt daily by our family and employees. Our pledge is to remember and our promise is to serve the community faithfully as we have for decades.”
The Richards family said the Fuller’s location should be moved from the busy downtown area.
“Further incidents, perhaps even further fatal incidents, are inevitable,” Kristine Richards said. “If they do not do so on their own, Fuller’s should be made to move the car wash to an area with less foot, bicycle, scooter and stroller traffic.”
The lawsuit, filed by Clifford Law Offices, seeks at least $50,000 in damages. It names Fuller’s Car Wash, the Douglas Fuller family and the 16-year-old driver’s father as defendants.
