Fuller's Car Wash at 102 W. Chicago Ave. has been closed for eight days and counting after a black Ford SUV crashed into the bollards at the business's exit on Wednesday, July 1. No reopening date has been announced.

Village President Greg Hart said on X on July 2 that the Hinsdale Police Department responded to the accident and that Fuller's will remain closed until a licensed structural engineer inspects and clears the site. The police investigation remains active.

According to the Hinsdale Police Department accident report, an employee entered the vehicle as it was exiting the wash at approximately 4 p.m. July 1. The brakes failed, causing heavy front-end damage and deploying the airbag. The black Ford SUV was towed to the back parking lot of Fuller's Service Center.

No one has been reported injured in the crash.

2023 fatality prompted bollard installation

The bollards at Fuller's exit carry particular weight in Hinsdale. They were installed after a July 17, 2023, incident in which an employee driving a car struck and killed 14-year-old Sean Patrick Richards on the sidewalk in front of the business. That vehicle then crossed Chicago Avenue and crashed into Fontano's restaurant, injuring customers inside.

Following the 2023 fatality, the Village of Hinsdale hired an engineer to ensure the replacement bollards could withstand the impact of a car. The initial barriers Fuller's installed were found inadequate, according to a Patch report published in March 2025. That report also noted the village and Fuller's were in a dispute over who should pay for the engineering oversight, and that Fuller's had filed for bankruptcy in January 2025 days before its owners were set to appear at depositions in the Richards family's lawsuit. The current status of both the bankruptcy and the debt dispute is unconfirmed as of July 2026.

What comes next

Fuller's Car Wash, an independently owned business at the corner of Chicago Avenue and Lincoln Street, cannot reopen until a licensed structural engineer certifies the damaged bollards are safe. No inspection date has been publicly announced.

The police investigation into the July 1 accident is ongoing, according to Hart.