Oswegoland Park District Director Tried To Hit Pedestrian, Crashed Into 2 Parked Cars: Yorkville PD

YORKVILLE, IL — Tom Betsinger — a former Montgomery village trustee who serves as the executive director of the Oswegoland Park District — allegedly crashed into multiple cars and attempted to hit a pedestrian Sunday evening in the 1500 block of Corneils Road, according to Yorkville police.

A witness called police at about 8:40 p.m. to report the incident involving a black Toyota pickup truck. The preliminary investigation using surveillance footage from a business showed the vehicle driving off the parking lot surface "in what appears to be an intentional attempt to strike a pedestrian multiple times before crashing into two parked vehicles and fleeing the area," police wrote in a Monday news release.

The pickup truck fled before officers arrived, according to Yorkville police. With the help of the Kendall County Sheriff's Office and Plano police, Yorkville officers found it about one mile east in a ditch on Corneils Road, where the driver appeared to have lost control of the car, officials said.

The driver, identified as 50-year-old Betsinger, of the 3100 block of Buchanan Lane in Montgomery, was taken into custody without incident and booked at the Kendall County jail on the following charges:

• One count of felony aggravated assault
• One count of felony criminal damage to property
• One count of attempted reckless homicide
• Two counts of aggravated assault
• One count of driving under the influence of alcohol

Betsinger was scheduled to appear in court Monday for a pretrial release hearing.

Kendall County jail records show he was released Monday afternoon.

Betsinger became executive director of the Oswegoland Park District in December 2023. In November 2023, the Village of Montgomery issued an alert congratulating Betsinger on the role and noting that he was stepping down as trustee and someone would be appointed to serve the rest of his term, which expired in April 2025.

According to his LinkedIn page, Betsinger has been with the park district for 27 years, previously serving as director of recreation and superintendent of recreation. He also served as a Montgomery plan commission and zoning board of appeals member before serving as a village trustee from 2019 to 2023.

Kendall County court files show his next court date is Aug. 18.