Facing wrongful-death lawsuit, Fuller's Car Wash files for bankruptcy

A year and a half after a Hinsdale Fuller's Car Wash employee lost control of a car and struck and killed a teen walking nearby, the company is filing for bankruptcy.

However, the family of 14-year-old Sean Richards, who was killed, is accusing the company of using the filing to try to avoid testifying in court.

On July 17, 2023, a 16-year-old Fuller’s car wash employee drove a Jeep Wrangler out of the car wash at a high rate of speed and struck and killed Richards as he walked along the sidewalk. The driver then slammed into Fontano’s Subs across the street.

The employee wasn’t criminally charged, but he was issued three traffic citations for failure to yield to a pedestrian on a sidewalk, failure to exercise due care and failure to reduce speed.

Richards’ family said they had expected the bankruptcy claim and questioned the timing, which they say comes as Fuller’s owners and employees were expected to testify in court regarding the family’s wrongful-death suit filed in late 2023.

“Even after killing a child and injuring others, the Fullers are trying to avoid the truth, accountability and public safety,” the boy’s family said in a statement. “We are familiar with the old saying that justice delayed is justice denied. And once again Fuller's are using every trick in the book to delay our day in court.”

The family said they were “patient and determined” to get justice for their son.

Fuller’s Car Wash didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The family has previously said the location should be moved from the busy downtown Hinsdale area and their wrongful death lawsuit, filed by Clifford Law Offices, seeks at least $50,000 in damages. It names Fuller’s Car Wash, the Douglas Fuller family and the 16-year-old driver’s father as defendants.