- The four girls killed after a vehicle crashed into their after-school camp in Illinois on the afternoon of Monday, April 28, have been identified by authorities
- The tragedy occurred at the YNOT (Youth Needing Other Things) Outdoors Summer Camp in Chatham
- Two 7-year-olds, an 8-year-old and an 18-year-old died in the crash, the Sangamon County Coroner’s Office said
The four victims killed after a vehicle crashed into their after-school camp in Illinois have been identified by authorities.
On Monday, April 28, at approximately 3:20 p.m. local time, a vehicle “left the road for unknown reasons, traveled through a field and into the east side” of the YNOT (Youth Needing Other Things) Outdoors Summer Camp, which is located at 301 Breckenridge Road in Chatham, the Illinois State Police (ISP) confirmed in an X post on Tuesday.
“The car traveled through the building striking numerous individuals before exiting the other side,” police added.
The Sangamon County Coroner’s Office has since identified the four young girls who died in the tragedy as Rylee Britton, 18, of Springfield; Ainsley Johnson, 8, of Chatham; Alma Buhnerkempe, 7, of Chatham and Kathryn Corley, 7, of Chatham, per a news release shared on Facebook.
“The Sangamon County Coroner, Jim Allmon, has identified the four students killed in the motor vehicle versus pedestrian incident in Chatham yesterday. All four girls were pronounced deceased at the scene,” Tuesday’s post read.
“Postmortem procedures done today indicate that they all died from multiple blunt force injuries sustained in the incident,” the coroner’s office stated, adding, “The deaths remain under investigation by the Sangamon County Coroner, the Illinois State Police and the Chatham Police Department.”
AP Photo/Erin Hooley
In Tuesday’s X post, the ISP confirmed that “six additional children were taken to area hospitals and one remains in critical condition” following the crash.
“The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle was uninjured and transported to an area hospital for evaluation. Toxicology reports are pending. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, but this does not appear to be a targeted attack,” police added.
In a separate X post, police identified the driver of the vehicle as Marianne Akers, 44, of Chatham.
“Akers is not in custody at this time as the cause of the crash remains under investigation,” the ISP said on Tuesday.
Thomas J. Turney/The State Journal-Register/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Victim Alma Buhnerkempe’s mother, Billie Buhnerkempe, described her daughter as a “ray of sunshine wherever she went” while speaking to NBC News.
“She was sweet, outgoing, silly and funny,” Buhnerkempe added to the outlet of the 7-year-old. “She loved her friends and family fiercely. She loved playing soccer, basketball and doing gymnastics.”
Ainsley Johnson’s father, Todd Johnson, said his daughter’s nickname was “Squirt,” per the outlet.
“She was larger than life and will forever leave a void in our broken hearts,” Johnson told NBC News.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a statement shared on X that he was “horrified and deeply saddened” by the incident in Chatham.
“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,” his message shared on Monday included.
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YNOT Outdoors founder Jamie Loftus called the crash an “unforetold tragedy” in a statement released on Tuesday, per NBC News.
“I cannot gather the words to express much of anything that will make sense in print,” Loftus said, according to the outlet. “However, I do know that our families who suffered loss and injury today are hurting very, very badly. They are friends, and their kids are like our kids.”
The Illinois State Police and the YNOT Outdoors Summer Camp did not immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for additional information. PEOPLE has also reached out to Billie Buhnerkempe and Todd Johnson.
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