Four people, all of them children or teenagers, were killed and several others were injured on Monday when a car crashed through an after-school center in Chatham, Ill., a village just south of Springfield, the State Police said.
The victims are believed to be 18 years and younger, the Illinois State Police Department said in a news release.
The car struck three of the victims outside the building and the other inside it at around 3:20 p.m., the police said. Several others were taken to the hospital, and at least one person was airlifted, the authorities said.
There was no additional information on the injuries on Monday evening or the ages of those injured, said Melaney Arnold, a spokeswoman for the Illinois State Police.
The driver, whom the authorities have not publicly identified, was not injured and was undergoing an evaluation at the hospital Monday evening, the State Police said. No one else was in the vehicle, the police said.
Officers with the Chatham Police Department, Chatham Fire Department and other agencies responded to a call Monday afternoon of a vehicle driving into Y.N.O.T. After School Camp, the State Police said.
According to the police, the driver hit the east side of the building, striking multiple people outside and then continued driving through the building, hitting more people inside before exiting on the west side.
The Illinois State Police and the Chatham Police Department are investigating the crash.
Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois expressed his condolences for the victims and their families in a statement on Monday evening, and said that his administration was monitoring the situation.
“Our community lost a group of bright and innocent young people with their whole lives ahead of them,” Mr. Pritzker said. “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.”
Representatives of Illinois also went on social media to express their sympathies. Representative Mary Miller, a Republican, said on X, “My heart is with the entire community.” Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat, said, “As a dad, my heart breaks for these parents living all of our worst nightmare tonight.”
Chatham, a village of around 14,500 people, is approximately 12 miles south of downtown Springfield, Ill.
Y.N.O.T., Youth Needing Other Things, is an organization founded in 2002 “as a way for parents to place their kids into a safe, fun, active and stimulating summer environment,” according to its website. The group organizes summer camps and an after-school program for children.
This is a developing story.
Neil Vigdor and Julie Bosman reporting.
