The police report on the crash that killed two Hinsdale residents 16 months ago remains out of reach for The Hinsdalean newspaper, even though another outlet has already obtained it.
The Hinsdalean filed a Freedom of Information Act request on Thursday, Aug. 13, with the Village of La Grange seeking the 93-page police report on the April 25, 2025, collision at 47th Street and Willow Springs Road that killed Brett Allen Lane, 51, and Melissa Ann Lane, 49. A La Grange official acknowledged receipt of the request. As of Thursday, Aug. 20, the village had not produced the document.
Under Illinois FOIA law (5 ILCS 140), a public body must comply with or deny a records request within five business days. Failure to respond within that window is considered a denial. The five-business-day clock from Aug. 13 expired around Aug. 20.
The same report was released to Patch after that outlet filed its own FOIA request on July 22. Patch published details from the 93-page document on Aug. 11, revealing that Cook County prosecutors declined to file reckless homicide or aggravated DUI charges against the other driver, 46-year-old Bozena Slimak of Hickory Hills. Police had requested those charges, but an assistant state's attorney rejected both in March 2026, citing "overwhelming" evidence and "consistent" witness accounts that Slimak experienced a medical event with no known prior history.
La Grange Village Manager Jack Knight, who serves as the police department's spokesperson, told Patch on July 8 that the case remained the subject of litigation and that the village would reach out to its attorneys. At that point, the investigation had already ended in March without public announcement.
The crash has generated two lawsuits in Cook County Circuit Court. The Lane family's wrongful death suit, filed by their son Simon Lane and Melissa Lane's mother Elizabeth Rocci, names Slimak and the Pleasantview Fire Protection District as defendants. A separate suit by crash victim Dawn Mack names seven agencies, including the La Grange, Western Springs, Hinsdale and La Grange Park police and fire departments.
According to the Lane family's lawsuit, Slimak swerved around a Western Springs squad car on Willow Springs Road, allegedly traveling 90 mph and running a red light before striking the Lanes' 2024 Porsche 718 Cayman. Pleasantview paramedics had earlier found Slimak suffering a seizure and "cognitive dysfunction" after a prior crash near Lyons Township High School's South Campus but did not secure her vehicle or remove the keys, the family alleged.
Pleasantview denied liability in an Aug. 10 court filing, arguing its medics followed Slimak from a safe distance to render aid. "(T)his hindsight theory about what they could have done better simply does not rise to the level of willful and wanton conduct," the district said in its response.
La Grange has not explained why it has not produced the report to The Hinsdalean after releasing it to another outlet weeks earlier.
