By Jim Utter
Director of Journalism
The family of a Hinsdale, Illinois, boy killed by an employee of Fuller’s Car Wash recently filed a $500 million claim against the company as part of its bankruptcy case.
Brian and Kristine Richards, acting as independent administrators of the estate of their son, Sean Patrick Richards, filed a Notice of Claim last week for $500 million in the bankruptcy case of Fuller’s Service Center Inc., operator of Fuller’s Car Wash.
On July 17, 2023, Sean, then 14, was walking on the sidewalk in front of Fuller’s on Chicago Avenue when an employee driving a car exited the car wash and hit him.
The car then crossed the street and crashed into a nearby restaurant, where three diners were injured. Richards died days later in the hospital from his injuries. The 16-year-old employee was charged with three traffic violations, but not any criminal offenses.
The $500 million claim includes both compensatory and punitive damages.
Fuller’s Service Center Inc., which operates a full-service automative service center and car wash at the location, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Jan. 29 of this year in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
In the claim, the family says at least three other similar incidents took place at the location in Hinsdale (2007, 2009 and 2022). In each, significant property damage was caused to vehicles but no bodily injuries. The company, however, undertook no corrective measures following the incidents.
Several lawsuits were filed against the company, one of which was scheduled to begin depositions shortly before the company filed for bankruptcy.
The Richards family claim the bankruptcy filing was another step in Fuller’s efforts to avoid accountability.
“Sean’s death should have never happened. It was entirely preventable, but Fuller’s consciously chose not to take simple, inexpensive steps to prevent such a tragedy,” a statement said from Clifford Law Offices in Chicago, which represents the family.
Several months after Sean’s death, the Hinsdale location sought permission from the village to build a wall along its property as a public safety measure.
One month after the incident, the car wash had 11 concrete-filled bollards installed just outside the exit of the wash bay. Until then, there was no barrier between the exit and the sidewalk and road in front of the location.
Credit: Patch.com
