Several inmates have filed a lawsuit after a McHenry County Jail prisoner transport bus crashed in Hainesville, leaving the driver unconscious and sending 19 people to the hospital, last year.
Attorney Robert A. Langendorf filed a lawsuit in McHenry County Circuit Court earlier this month on behalf of Angel Borgas, Lynell Glover, Jonathan Skorko, Cesar Morales, Andres Lopez and Alessi Botello.
The plaintiffs were passengers in an inmate transport bus around 1 p.m. on September 4, 2024.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office said the bus was transporting the inmates to the McHenry County Jail in Woodstock when it became involved in a crash at Route 120 and Hainesville Road in Hainesville.
The bus, which was coming from the Lake County Jail, collided with a Chevrolet SUV, driven by Carol Gitzke, in the intersection, according to the lawsuit.
Grayslake Police Chief Jeff Myhra said the transport bus was traveling westbound on Route 120 when the eastbound Chevrolet attempted to make a left turn onto northbound Hainesville Road.
The bus was occupied by two McHenry County correctional officers, 15 Lake County Jail inmates being housed in the McHenry County Jail and one McHenry County Jail inmate, according to Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli.
Myhra said all prisoners were accounted for following the crash.
The Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) was activated to the fourth alarm level, bringing ambulances from across Lake and McHenry counties to the scene.
All of the inmates from the bus and the two officers were transported to four area hospitals. Gitzke was also transported to the hospital.
Myhra said the driver of the bus was unconscious at the scene when officers arrived.
Covelli said everyone involved from the two vehicles suffered injuries that were non-life-threatening.
Numerous Grayslake police officers, sheriff’s deputies and other police officers responded due to the number of inmates involved.
All of the ambulances transporting the inmates were followed by either Grayslake police officers or Lake County sheriff’s deputies, Covelli said.
The inmates were in custody at the hospital and under the supervision of Lake County sheriff’s deputies and corrections officers, McHenry County sheriff’s corrections officers or Grayslake police officers.
Gitzke told police that she had the green light as she attempted to make her turn northbound onto Hainesville Road and that the westbound bus had the red light, the lawsuit complaint said.
One of the McHenry County sheriff’s employees on the bus told police that the bus had the green light and that Gitzke ran the red light and turned in front of them, the complaint said.
Officers cited Gitzke for improper left turn and failure to yield the right of way. She later pleaded guilty in the case, the lawsuit complaint said, but court records show prosecutors dismissed the charge.
The lawsuit accuses Gitzke of carelessly and negligently operating her vehicle to avoid striking the bus by failing to reduce speed, failing to yield the right of way and making an improper left turn.
The lawsuit also accuses the sheriff’s employee driving the bus of being careless and negligent for failing to avoid the collision.
The sheriff’s employee driving the bus, the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and Gitzke are all named as defendants in the lawsuit, which seeks an unspecified amount of damages in excess of $50,000.
The plaintiffs said they suffered “severe and permanent injuries” as well as “great pain and anguish.”
An initial court hearing in the suit is scheduled for December 3 for conference scheduling.
In addition to the lawsuit filed by the six plaintiffs in McHenry County, several other lawsuits have also been filed by other inmates in Lake County Circuit Court and in federal court.