Van crash at St. Charles youth center could cost $150,000

A security van driver at Illinois Youth Center St. Charles got distracted by a fight and drove into a building there earlier this month, state records show.

A contractor and architect were on site this week assessing damage, said Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice spokeswoman Jennifer Florent, and the state estimates the fixes will cost $150,000.

“On October 3, 2013, the driver of a state van was distracted when two residents began fighting, which caused the driver to lose control of the van and hit the Cleveland Building, a housing unit,” says a state record describing the unexpected expense.

The crash damaged an indoor recreation area.

“The building cannot lawfully be used without youth access to indoor recreation,” the state record says. “Failure to timely complete repairs and restore this building to its original condition will render the housing unit unavailable at significant expense to IDJJ and the State of Illinois.”

The building could hold 37 residents, and 18 youth had to be moved to the youth center in Kewanee while the damage is fixed, Florent said. Repairs are expected to be completed by mid-November.

The state document announcing which contractors will take on the repairs estimates the cost at $225,000, but Florent said the latest guess is $150,000.