Four months ago a crash killed 32-year-old Sarah Kamp of Byron. Her husband, Jason Kamp, has filed a lawsuit against the Stephenson County Sheriff’s Department, which claims that the dispatcher’s oversight is the cause of Sarah’s death. Sarah passed away on May 20 due to injuries she sustained in a 2-car wreck at the intersection of Rock City and Montague roads, just south of German Valley.
The wrongful death lawsuit was filed on Setempber 13th in the 15th District Circuit Court in Freeport. It alleges that the 911 dispatcher took a call at 5:51 am on May 20 about a missing stop sign at this intersection. She then promised the caller that “someone would be out there to take care of it.” Instead, the dispatcher took another call shortly afterward and forgot to relay this information to the Stephenson County Highway Department. The 911 center had a 6:00 am shift change, and no one was notified of the missing stop sign, alleges Kamp’s lawsuit.
The crash that killed Sarah Kamp occurred just 16 minutes later at 7:07 am. According to Illinois State Police, Kamp was driving a 2002 Toyota westbound on Montague Road and she entered the intersection without stopping, hitting a white Saturn driving north on Rock City Road. Police said that the stop sign for the intersection was found later with evidence of weather damage in a field close by.
Attorney Tim Mahoney, who is representing Jason Kamp, said, “The intersection has been the location of several wrecks in the past few years. The stop sign at the intersection, which would have directed Sarah to stop, was missing. Presumably from a bad storm the night before.” The lawsuit is requesting a trial by jury and a judgment in excess of $4 million, as well as the cost of the lawsuit.
According to Mahoney, the circumstances of the accident were tragic for everyone, as the Kamp’s son was just 21 months old at the time of her death. Sarah was also pregnant with a second child and traveling to see her OB-GYN in Freeport when she was killed.
The lawsuit is charging the department with wrongful death, alleging that the negligent acts of the dispatcher, which led to Sarah Kamp’s death. According to Stephenson County Engineer Chris Isbell, it’s protocol for highway crews to inspect roadways in the early morning after serious storms to look for downed signs, branches or flooding.
He stated that his crew was out looking at the time of the accident and two of his personnel arrived on the scene shortly after the accident because “that was the area they were in the process of checking… It’s top priority for us to either put up a temporary sign or replace the sign.”
Stephenson County Sheriff David Snyders has declined to comment on the case, although he confirmed his department has been in contact with legal counsel and its insurance provider. He could not immediately offer statistics of the frequency of accidents at the intersection.
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