While a Palos Park Episcopal church’s day care has reopened after a pickup truck crashed into the building nearly three months ago, the church continues to struggle to recover financially, according to the Rev. Hunter Farrow.
“We’re a church that’s used to a lot of stability and kind of used to having a bit of a safety net, and in some ways the day care is that safety net for us,” said Farrow, priest-in-charge of the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration that owns and operates the day care. “This is a good reminder to everybody I think that we can only rely on these things so much.”
The day care reopened early last month, but the large room dedicated to 3- and 4-year-olds that the truck crashed into May 16 remains out of commission. Farrow said the day care is using a smaller room that was not being used before the crash.
“We had to do a lot to demonstrate to the village and to demonstrate to (Illinois Department of Children and Family Services) that it was safe and everything for the kids to come back,” Farrow said.
He said for the seven weeks the day care was closed, the church dipped into its savings to continue to pay its staff while appraising the damage and remediating the building,that he said smelled like burning rubber.
Authorities also ordered power to be cut to the entire property as a precaution for several days after the crash, leading the congregation to hold two outdoor services. The day care also lost one-third of its typical summer enrollment due to the delayed start date for summer programming.
Community members, including Emily Elzen whose two children were attending the day care at the time of the crash, raised more than $20,000 via GoFundMe to support injured children and teachers, but the church has not fundraised for itself, Farrow said.
The crash led to the hospitalization of three day care children, two police officers and a church staff member who suffered a medical emergency at the scene. All have since been released.
Palos Park police said a 29-year-old man driving a pickup truck east on McCarthy Road shortly after 4:30 p.m. May 16 apparently suffered a medical emergency. The pickup veered off 123rd Street, crossed 86th Avenue and went into the parking lot of the church before crashing into the building, police said.
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Sgt. Ross Chibe would not provide more details about the investigation Monday. Farrow said police provided an update several weeks ago that the driver had a history of seizures.
The driver was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and is to appear in Bridgeview court Aug. 22. Possible penalties include a moving violation with fines up to $1,000, mandatory court assessments and driver’s license suspension.
Farrow said he is not worried about court proceedings but instead continues to focus on insurance claims he said may allow the church to begin repairs to the room that was hit by the end of the month.
He said some children’s family members continue to question the driver and the incident and may file their own lawsuits, but the church is hoping to move past the incident.
“I’m just ready to kind of put it in our rearview mirror,” Farrow said. “I think at this point the most frustrating part of it is not being able to fully move on from things.”
Farrow said he is grateful the crash has not steered families or staff away from the church, which continues to enroll students in its fall programming.