Ex-Lawmaker Defends Hinsdale Car Wash Owners

HINSDALE, IL – A former state lawmaker last week defended the owners of Hinsdale's Fuller's Car Wash, which has been sued for a crash that resulted in the death of a local 14-year-old boy.

The boy's father said the ex-official's assertions included falsehoods.

Jim Durkin, who served in the state House for 17 years before leaving in 2023, acknowledged he is connected to the Fuller family through marriage. His son-in-law works for the company and is its highest-paid employee.

In July 2023, an employee struck Sean Patrick Richards, who was walking on a public sidewalk, and then ran into Fontano's restaurant, injuring customers. Richards died days later.

In a letter to the Hinsdalean newspaper last week, Durkin, who served as the House Republican leader for a decade, called the crash a tragedy, saying his heart went out to the Richards family. He said the employee "lost control" of the vehicle.

The letter was titled, "Forgiveness, not filing a lawsuit, is the path to healing."

"What happened that day was not an intentional act, it was an accident, a horrible accident," said Durkin, who recently moved to Hinsdale from Western Springs. "There is no debate over cause and responsibility. The lawsuits have been filed, and the legal system is in full force."

As a Catholic, he said forgiveness was a central tenet of his religion.

"(F)orgiving others who have caused hurt is a journey of grace and healing, as difficult as it may be," Durkin said.

He said the Fuller family is kind, deeply religious and selfless, saying they mourn Sean Richards every day.

"Healing may be a long, difficult path," Durkin said. "However, healing should not come in the form of wiping out the Fuller family of every penny to their name by any and every means possible. That path is something else."

Reached by phone Thursday, Durkin, a lawyer, declined to comment.

Durkin's son-in-law, Owen Fuller, is the firm's highest-paid employee, making $360,594 over the two years ending last month, according to payroll records released in the bankruptcy litigation.

In January, Fuller's Car Wash filed for bankruptcy shortly before the owners' depositions in the lawsuit were to start, putting the litigation on hold.

In the 13 months before the bankruptcy filing, the five co-owners received nearly $1.2 million in compensation and dividends from the Hinsdale business. They also reclassified $3.2 million in loans to themselves as shareholder distributions, according to court documents.

Records also showed the business owned 18 cars, many of them luxury models, including a Mercedes and a Cadillac Escalade. Fuller's owes a total of $452,000 for 14 of the cars. For tax and bankruptcy purposes, those cars must be for business, not personal use.

In an interview Thursday, Brian Richards, Sean's father, said the letter was an attempt to "publicly shame" his family.

"They're delaying and delaying, and now they're saying that it's two years, let's move on," Richards said.

He said his family has not spoken with the former lawmaker, but would be willing to.

"We're willing to sit down with those who disagree with us," Richards said. "He could have found us, and we could have gone to have coffee."

In a letter to the Hinsdalean on Thursday, Richards said Durkin's letter characterized the Fullers as victims, but he said Sean, his family and his friends were the victims.

Richards said the employee did not lose control.

"(The car's) black box indisputably proved that the Fuller's employee floored the accelerator and reached 38 mph, never making any effort to turn or stop, as he drove over Sean and through a brick wall," Richard said.

The father also said it was not an accident, which is an unforeseeable, unpredictable event. Rather, he said the Fullers knew that the same thing had happened at least three times before.

As for forgiveness, Richards pointed to a recent article by a Catholic expert listing the elements for reaching forgiveness, including admitting wrongdoing, apologizing to people who were harmed and trying to make the fullest amends possible.

"If and when the Fullers satisfy these conditions, we will work toward forgiveness," Richards said. "(O)ur objectives in pursuing justice for Sean have always been the truth, accountability and public safety."