Chicago teen who saw classmates drown in Fox River sues
A Chicago teen who tried unsuccessfully to save three high school classmates from drowning on the Fox River at Camp Algonquin last year is suing the McHenry County Conservation District, saying its negligence is to blame for his suffering since.
Marshaun Williams is seeking at least $50,000 from the MCCD to compensate for emotional distress and other damages experienced as a result of the Nov. 14, 2008, drownings, the suit states.
Williams was one of about 30 students from Chicago's North Lawndale College Preparatory High School visiting Camp Algonquin last November for an eight-day leadership retreat.
He and 10 others, according to a state report, sneaked out of a dormitory in the early morning hours of their last day on the camp to go for a ride on paddleboats that had been left on shore.
The students were unaware the drain plugs at the bottom of the boats had been removed, causing them to sink shortly after they were launched into the river.
Several of the teens plunged into the 42-degree water. Three - Melvin Choice Jr., 17, Jimmie Avant, 18, and Adrian Jones, 16 - drowned.
The suit, filed in McHenry County Circuit Court, claims negligence and "willful and wanton conduct" by the MCCD led to the incident. Among the claims was that the district failed to secure the paddleboats, failed to warn students of their unsafe condition and failed to ensure adequate supervision.
MCCD Executive Director Elizabeth Kessler declined to comment on the suit Thursday.
The district owns the 116-acre Camp Algonquin property, 1889 Cary Road, and leases it to its operators, the YMCA of McHenry County. The YMCA is not named in the lawsuit.
A 400-page report by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources primarily blamed the drownings on the students' lack of experience with boats on a river. But it also noted that camp operators missed clues that would have alerted them of the boats' danger and the students' ability to access them.
The families of Avant and Choice are suing the YMCA, North Lawndale College Prep and the retreat's organizers in civil court, claiming their negligence caused the drownings.