Family of 2-year-old boy killed in Portillo’s crash in Oswego seeking more than $100,000 in damages

The family of a 2-year-old boy who was killed in July when a car crashed into the front entrance of the Portillo’s restaurant in Oswego is seeking more than $100,000 in damages as part of a lawsuit it has filed against the company.

Chicago-based GWC Injury Lawyers filed the two-count lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court on Aug. 19. In the first count – wrongful death – the suit seeks more than $50,000 in damages and in the second count – survival act – the suit also seeks more than $50,000.

The Illinois Survival Act allows the estate of a deceased person to pursue claims the decedent could have filed if they had survived.

“This kind family has suffered an unimaginable, senseless loss,” Louis C. Cairo, managing partner at Chicago-based GWC Injury Lawyers said in a statement. “Our goal now is to ensure that no other family has to endure the tragic loss and suffering that this family is currently going through right now and will go through forever.”

Portillo’s could not be reached for comment. According to GWC’s early investigation, the crash was entirely foreseeable and preventable.

“The front entrance of the Portillo’s restaurant and parking lot is designed in such a manner that this type of tragic event seems almost inevitable,” the law firm states.

“The restaurant created a nose-in parking space directly in front of the glass revolving entrance doorway with no concrete parking bumpers or protective safety bollards between the parking lot and the glass entrance 15 feet away. These defective conditions, coupled with tables situated right in front of the revolving door, created a highly dangerous condition that exposed diners and pedestrians to the risk of exactly this kind of vehicle intrusion,” the law firm states.

A bollard is a short vertical post used to manage traffic and parking around areas where there are a lot of pedestrians. Following the crash and the reopening of the restaurant, Portillo’s has placed white and orange construction barrels in front of its entrance.

Oswego police continue to investigate what caused the driver of a 2011 Lincoln MKZ Sedan to crash into the entrance. The vehicle was driven by a 50-year-old woman from Canton, Michigan, who was the only occupant in the vehicle, police said.

It is not known if the driver was having a medical emergency at the time of the crash, Oswego Police Chief Jason Bastin has said.

In the suit, it states the driver “while maneuvering into a parking space directly in front of the restaurant’s entrance, suddenly accelerated the 2011 Lincoln MKZ forward, causing the vehicle to jump the curb, crash through the front of the restaurant, and fatally strike plaintiff’s decedent.”

The restaurant in the coming weeks plans to install bollards in front of its entrance.

“A rudimentary timeline subject to change is that we should be issuing them the permit by the end of this week,” Oswego Village President Ryan Kauffman said following the Aug. 19 Oswego Village Board meeting. “And after that, then it will be a couple of weeks until they get the permanent bollards installed. The construction barrels are out there now.”

Oswego requires bollards for all commercial outdoor dining areas, Kauffman said.

“Hopefully this prevents something like this from ever happening again,” he said. “It’s a devastating event and our hearts break for the family. As a dad, I cannot even imagine the heartbreak that family is going through.”

Kauffman said the village has begun reviewing its ordinances and safety protocols to identify what more can be done to help prevent such tragedies in the future.

“Staff is looking a wide array on options and ideas,” he said. “I don’t know what they will come back with yet. But they’re looking at our existing ordinances, what we have on the books now and they’re looking at what other communities have done.”

All of the 13 victims, including the toddler, were in the restaurant at the time of the crash. Eight people, including the 50-year-old driver of the vehicle, were taken to area hospitals.

With the exception of the 2-year-old child, the individuals taken for injuries ranged in age from their 20s to their 60s.

The Kane County Coroner’s office is investigating the death of the toddler. Following the crash, the child was taken to Rush Copley Medical Center in Aurora, where he was pronounced dead.

Preliminary findings from an autopsy conducted on July 31 indicate that the cause of death is consistent with multiple traumatic injuries.

Five other people were treated at the scene and declined further medical treatment.