Four children were killed when vehicle smashed through Illinois building, police say

CHATHAM Ill AP Four children were killed and several others were injured when a car smashed through a building during an after-school scheme Monday afternoon in a town outside of Springfield Illinois police commented Officers responded at about p m to calls about a car fatally hitting three people outside ramming through the building and then hitting another person before exiting the other side Chatham Police Department Deputy Chief Scott Tarter explained Those killed were between the ages of and Illinois State Police announced in an emailed report Several other people were hurt and taken to hospitals police explained The driver who was uninjured was the sole occupant of the bicycle and was taken to a hospital for evaluation Tarter noted Illinois State Police haven t disclosed if the driver was arrested or taken into custody The building and facilities house YNOT Outdoors which holds after-school programs and summer camps according to its website I am horrified and deeply saddened by the deaths of children and numerous injuries in Chatham this afternoon Illinois Gov JB Pritzker mentioned in a declaration My heart is heavy for these families and the unimaginable grief they re experiencing something that no parent should ever have to endure He declared his office was monitoring the situation and was ready to lend advocacy Chatham is a small town of about people just outside Springfield Illinois It wasn t at once known what led up to the crash or whether it was intentional The deaths in Illinois happened two days after people were killed in Vancouver British Columbia when a car plowed through a crowded street during a Filipino heritage festival one of the bulk current examples of people driving vehicles into groups of people across the globe