Four people, all of them children or teenagers, were killed and several others were injured on Monday when a car crashed through an after-school center in Chatham, Ill., a village just south of Springfield, the State Police said.
The victims are believed to be 18 years and younger, the Illinois State Police Department said in news release.
The car struck three of the victims outside the building and the other inside it, the police said. Several others were taken to the hospital, and at least one person was airlifted, the authorities said.
There was no additional information on the injuries on Monday evening or the ages of those injured, said Melaney Arnold, a spokeswoman for the Illinois State Police.
The driver, who has not been identified, was not injured and was undergoing an evaluation at the hospital Monday evening, the State Police said. No one else was in the vehicle, the police said.
Officers with the Chatham Police Department, Chatham Fire Department and other agencies responded to a call Monday afternoon of a vehicle driving into Y.N.O.T. After School Camp, the State Police said
According to the police, the driver drove into the east side of the building, striking multiple people outside and then continued driving through the building, hitting more people inside before exiting through the building on the west side.
The Illinois State Police and the Chatham Police Department are investigating the crash. It was not immediately known what caused the crash.
Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois expressed his condolences for the victims and their families in a statement on Monday evening, and said that his administration was monitoring the situation.
“Our community lost a group of bright and innocent young people with their whole lives ahead of them,” Mr. Pritzker said. “Parents said goodbye to their kids this morning not knowing it would be the last time. My heart is heavy for these families and the unimaginable grief they’re experiencing.”
This is a developing story.
Neil Vigdor and Julie Bosman reporting.
