Family drops suit blaming old 911 system

Citing doubts about their ability to prove their case, family members of a motorcyclist who died in a McHenry County cornfield while rescuers tried to locate him have dropped their lawsuit blaming the county, its sheriff and its emergency telephone board for his death.

The lawsuit, filed in July by the family of Kurt A. Regnier, claimed the county dragged its feet on installing 911 technology that would have made it possible for rescuers to locate him after he crashed his motorcycle into a Harvard-area field.

However, the family's attorney, Shawn Kasserman, said Thursday that further investigation indicated that an upgraded system may not have made a difference for the 47-year-old Capron man.

"We still feel pretty strongly that the county not upgrading its 911 system was terrible, but it would be difficult to prove that caused Mr. Regnier's death," Kasserman said. "Even with the upgraded system, it's not clear whether they could have gotten to him in time to save his life."

In a statement released Thursday, the county's Emergency Telephone System Board said it was pleased with the dismissal.

"It has been the board's position from the outset that they did nothing wrong, and that the allegations against them were baseless," the release states.

McHenry County State's Attorney Louis Bianchi said he has sympathy for Regnier's family, but said the law clearly was on the county's side.

Regnier died of head, neck and chest injuries July 9, 2006 after his motorcycle swerved off a rural road and crashed, throwing the helmet-less driver into the cornfield. While lying incapacitated, Regnier twice called 911 for help, but was unable to tell dispatchers his exact location.

A massive search involving police from six departments and a helicopter was unsuccessful and Regnier's body was not located until a passing motorist spotted it more than four hours after his initial call.

The lawsuit claimed the county should have installed "Phase II" technology in its 911 system, which would have allowed rescuers to track the signal from Regnier's phone to within 500 feet of his location.

But in a now-moot motion to dismiss the case, county lawyers argued that the county was under no legal obligation to upgrade its 911 service.

The county has had the Phase II technology in place since March 2007.