Parents of Frankfort teen killed in August 2024 Mokena crash take fresh legal action
Courtney Miller, a graduate of Lincoln-Way East High School, died early Aug. 15, 2024, following a crash in Mokena at U.S. 30 and Owens Road.
Her parents, in an amended lawsuit filed Thursday in Will County Circuit Court, allege Mokena police dropped the ball in not testing one of the drivers involved for alcohol consumption.
It also claims Mokena officers obstructed the investigation by shutting off body cameras during portions of their probe at the accident scene.
The village attorney said Friday the village had not yet seen a copy of the lawsuit and that he could not comment on the allegations.
Miller planned to attend Joliet Junior College and study toward a degree in radiology, according to her obituary. At the time of her death she worked for Elite Ambulance.
Police said Miller was a passenger in a 2010 Camaro being driven by a friend and headed east on U.S. 30 in Mokena at Owens Roads when it collided with a 2015 Land Rover being driven west and turning south onto Owens.
Police said both vehicles had a green light. The driver of the Land Rover was cited by Mokena police for failure to yield while turning.
The crash took place at about 10:15 p.m. and Miller was pronounced dead at the scene at about 12:30 a.m. Aug. 16.
The amended wrongful death lawsuit filed Wednesday alleges the driver of the Land Rover, Scott Hersted, had been drinking at locations in Chicago prior to the crash, adding those establishments as defendants in the case, originally filed last year, seeking damages in excess of $50,000.
Attorneys for Hersted could not immediately be reached for comment Friday.
Separately, the parents also filed a lawsuit Thursday in Will County alleging Mokena police haven't helped the investigation and may have hindered it.
That complaint names the village and 10 police personnel as defendants, and alleges police did not require Hersted to take a field sobriety test or seek a warrant to draw his blood to test for alcohol.
It also alleges that some officers, while talking at the accident scene, purposely turned off body-worn cameras at certain points.
The complaint seeks damages in excess of $50,000.
A judge overseeing the wrongful death suit this week issued a protective order preventing public release of information in the case. It came after a request from attorneys representing Hersted.
Information and documents deemed confidential and barred from public consumption, including news media, includes investigative documents, videos and photos and witness statements, according to the order.
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