“Stunned, shocked, with broken heart”; Hundreds mourn for children, teenagers who were killed in the after -school program in the crash

Chatham, Ill. (First alarm 4) – One day after a fatal crash, three children and a teenager had killed in an after -school program in Chatham, Illinois, the village came out with less than 15,000 years to mourn at a vigil in the village area.

The forensic doctor of Sangamon, Jim Allmon, identified the victims as 18-year-old Rylee Britton, Ainsley Johnson (8) and Kathryn Corley and Alma Buhnerkempe (7).

“I think we can push forward over time, but never forget them,” said Laurel Shapiro, who lives in Chatham.

Shapiro put flowers in a growing monument outside of the Ynot Outdoor Summer and After School Camp, the place of the crash. Like many who grew up in Chatham, Shapiro visited Ynot programs in summer and after school.

“It doesn't really happen in Chatham,” she said. “We are just a small city and I have the feeling that we are isolated from bad things.”

During the day, members of the community wore red to symbolize the strength of the city.

On Tuesday evening, candles burned light and red ribbons decorated trees.

“Every candle that we shed light on light tonight is a calm act of default against despair,” said a community member to the amount of mourners. “Every flame says that hope remains, Hope existed.”

Mark Lewis was Rylee Britton's football coach.

“I am only stunned, shocked and with broken heart over all of this,” he said. She added that she had dreamed of being a teacher.

“Great personality, great friend, person who always had a very positive insight,” he said about Britton. “She always knew how to make someone happy, make people laugh and she only had a great spirit over her.”

Now the program that is once a playground for Shapiro is now a place of memory, reflection and healing.

“We have the back of the other through everything,” she said. “Since we are a small city, we can work through it and lift each other.”

The Illinois State Police said that the driver's toxicological reports are still pending.

There was no reason why the driver's vehicle left the road.

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