The fire district whose paramedics responded to a seizure-impaired driver on April 25, 2025, says it bears no responsibility for what happened next. Minutes after that encounter on Willow Springs Road in La Grange, Hinsdale residents Brett Allen Lane, 51, and Melissa Ann Lane, 49, were dead.
The Pleasantview Fire District, based in La Grange Highlands, answered the Lane family's lawsuit through the Chicago-based Salvi Schostok law firm, arguing its crew followed protocol and that the family's claims do not meet the "willful and wanton" legal standard required to hold a public emergency services agency liable under Illinois law.
The filing, reported Sunday, Aug. 9, by Patch, marks the first public defense from Pleasantview since the Lane family sued in June.
What the family alleges
According to the lawsuit filed in June, Pleasantview medics responded to an earlier crash on Willow Springs Road near Lyons Township High School's South Campus that same afternoon. They found driver Bozena Slimak suffering a seizure and transitioning into "cognitive dysfunction," a state associated with agitation and hallucinations.
The family alleges medics failed to secure Slimak's 2017 Nissan or remove the keys from the ignition. Slimak reversed and sped away, reaching approximately 90 mph, swerving around a Western Springs squad car, and running a red light at 47th Street and Willow Springs Road before striking the Lanes' 2024 Porsche 718 Cayman.
The lawsuit also alleges Pleasantview failed to warn other police and firefighters about the urgent need to block traffic on 47th Street.
Pleasantview's defense
In its court filing, the district denied pursuing Slimak, stating instead that paramedics followed her from a safe distance to render medical aid if needed.
Even if medics had pursued her, the district argued, that action would not constitute "willful or wanton" conduct. The Salvi Schostok firm acknowledged it found no case law specifically involving paramedics pursuing vehicles but pointed to well-established police pursuit precedent, where Illinois courts routinely rule in favor of officers.
The district wrote in its filing that the family's theory amounts to hindsight that does not clear the high legal bar designed to prevent "second-guessing of split-second" decisions by emergency responders. It also argued that a failure to prevent Slimak from driving away does not make paramedics the actual cause of the crash.
Investigation still open
More than 15 months after the collision, La Grange police have not indicated they have completed their investigation. The village manager has described the case as "unusually complex." Shortly after the crash, police said they were considering whether a health issue played a role in Slimak's conduct.
The lawsuit names two defendants: the Pleasantview Fire District and Slimak. No statement from the Lane family's attorney was available. No next court date has been publicly announced.
