Victims ID'ed In IL Crash That Killed 4 Students When Car Drove Through Building

CHATHAM, IL — The four students who were killed when a woman plowed through a building Monday at an after-school camp in central Illinois were identified Tuesday morning by authorities.

The crash occurred around 3:20 p.m. at YNOT After School Camp in the 300 block of Breckenridge Road in Chatham after a vehicle drove into the east side of the structure, hitting multiple people both outside and inside the building, and exiting through the west wall, police said.

Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon identified the four people killed in the incident as: Ainsley Johnson, 8, of Chatham; Rylee Britton, 18, of Springfield; Kathryn Corley, 7, of Chatham; and Alma Buhnerkempe, 7, of Chatham.

All four girls were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the coroner's office, which added that postmortem procedures indicate they all died from multiple blunt force injuries suffered in the incident.

Billie Buhnerkempe, Alma's mother, described her daughter to NBC News as a "ray of sunshine" who supported her younger brother, who has autism. She was "sweet, outgoing, silly and funny" and "loved playing soccer, basketball and doing gymnastics," according to the outlet.

Todd Johnson, Ainsley's father, told NBC News that his daughter's nickname was "Squirt" and she was "larger than life."

Police said they do not believe the crash was a targeted attack. They identified the driver as a 44-year-old Chatham woman and said she is not in custody as the cause of the crash remains under investigation.

State police said the vehicle "left the road for unknown reasons" before it traveled through a field and into the building.

In addition to the four students who were killed, police said six children were taken to area hospitals, and one remained in critical condition.

The driver, who was the sole occupant of the vehicle, was not hurt but was taken to a hospital to be evaluated, according to police.

In a statement posted to social media, YNOT summer camp founder Jamie Loftus called the crash an "unforetold tragedy" and said the woman's "large SUV ... travelled through a 78-acre farm field, arcing into a path that security cameras observed, showed it heading to our building at a high rate of speed." She said it crossed a street and a sidewalk, "continuing into our parking lot and into the East wall of our building." The vehicle exited the west side of the building, crossed a gravel road, and came to rest against a pole and baseball field fence, according to Loftus.

"I cannot gather the words to express much of anything that will make sense in print," she said. "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 Village of Chatham and Ball Chatham Schools are going to need their populations and that of the outside world to love them, pray for them, think of them and, at the same time, give them space and respect."

Parents said the Youth Needing Other Things Outdoors after-school and summer camp programs are highly coveted, offering a space where students from different elementary schools get to know each other.

As Illinois investigators pieced together evidence from the crash site, residents in the close-knit community of about 15,000 mourned.

Sam McCurdy, 19, drove home Tuesday from the University of Missouri in Columbia to be with his sister, a close friend of Britton’s. His sister, Britton and other friends had planned to attend prom together this weekend.

“I wanted to be here for her, and for the community, to show support,” McCurdy said. “So many plans, so many futures, and so much grieving for something that shouldn’t have happened.”

On Tuesday evening, with red ribbons tied in bows lining Main Street, hundreds of people gathered for a vigil in the town square, where heart-shaped boards bore the names of the four who died. Dozens of people signed messages to each.

Earlier in the day, hundreds packed Cherry Hills Church. Most wore red, the color of Glenwood High School, where Britton was a senior.

Officials in the Ball-Chatham School District, where the four victims attended schools, said classes would be online through Thursday.

The studio where Ainsley and two others hurt in the crash took dance also canceled classes Tuesday. Teachers at Studio M Dance Centre remembered the 8-year-old as a “sweet and sassy” dancer and tumbler.

Jennifer Walston, 43, and her three daughters left flowers and a stuffed animal at the crash site Tuesday. The large hole in the side of the building where the car entered was boarded over with plywood and an area behind the building was cordoned off with yellow tape.

Walston's daughters attend the group's summer camp and said they knew Alma and Ainsley, remembering them as energetic girls who loved to dance and made efforts to include others.

“They were sweet girls,” Walston said. “This is just devastating.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.