At least 6 hurt when boats collide on Kankakee River

Anything new with this case? Anyone been charged yet?

The current charges against Hale were dismissed at the last hearing; prosecutor waiting for medical records of victims before pressing charges. The last hearing, scheduled Wednesday of this week, was postponed.

A reporter from the Daily Journal has been following the case closely, despite receiving threatening phone calls from Hale. She writes a detailed article whenever there is an update.

I thought charges were moved up to felony charges? Dismissed I hope they don't walk from this. Only Hale is being charged?

That's funny threaten the journal writers, that will win you points and good PR I bet. LOL

I know they are sit parting like it's 1999. Seen them out drinking.

Hale will not walk. Charges were dismissed so they could be upgraded, as reported in the Journal. Its not over yet, and victims seeing it thru the long haul.

The recovery is ongoing as well. The victim who was injured the most (not Robyn) is still receiving treatment for his injuries, and may need surgery.

Hale was the only one driving the boat drunk, so he is the only one being charged. Apparently, it is not against the law to turn the keys over to your drunk boyfriend. Wish it were. But as the owner of the boat, she will be held accountable civilly. All four victims have piles of medical bills. This is a very sad situation.

mazin wrote:

I didn't know coloreds knew how to drive boats.

Hey SFB.FYI I know you must be some backwoods cornbread eating toothless stupid SOB.If not U must B just plain white trash!SMF

thanks for the update lebabe my prayers are with you and your family. it seems like you are the only one with common sense on this I know that I wasnt called yet to show up for court. But thank you for the update. I hope everything turns out the way it should be. If it is meant to be it will happen. you were the only one who actually said thank you. To me that meant alot. Cause If I wouldnt have been sitting on my dock then I would have never acted as fast as I did. I am thankful to God that nobody died during this bad time. Please keep in touch with the update I am only about a hour away. I can be there.

OMG...get ur facts st8....how can you be a witness to anything??? You don't even know if your the wife or the husband!!
"Not one person has come up to myself or my husband......." and then in the next sentence...."my wife still has bad dreams"....I know who witnessed this...HE is a friend of mine and it is not you! NICE TRY again you illiterate idiot!! and BTW to all of you who were not a party to any of this....THE INJURED SIX WERE NOT DRUNK!!!

The only witness wrote:

first off it was an accident and stuff happens like this all the time whether you are on the water or on the street. I was there when it happened and it was an accident. yes I feel sorry for the other people involved. but, my husband is the one who called the police and emergency help he is the one who took the parmedic across the river so he could take care of the other people. In my opinion I mean me being the only one there Not one person has come up to myself or my husband and thank them for saving all of there lives. My wife still has bad dreams of the situation. But, just to inform all of you EVERYBODY ON BOTH BOATS WERE DRUNK SO THEY ARE BOTH AT FAULT. Yes both boats had there lights on and it was a real bad accident. So everybody that keeps downing Robin and Paul they need not to be judged because the other people were at fault too. I cant wait to go to court so I can tell the judge what happened. The people that are making comments on this situation needs to get a life and mind there own business. BECAUSE LORD KNOW THAT THE OTHER PEOPLE AREN'T PERFECT EITHER. SO UNLESS YOU WERE THERE KEEP YOUR COMMENTS TO YOURSELF. YOUR OPINIONS ARE NOT NEEDED HERE.

Any new info or is Paul and Robyn off the hook?

No one is off the hook. Felony charges were filed against Hale. He has a court appearance in January, at which time he will plead guilty or not guilty, and a bond will be set.

The victims still have more time to seek civil action against Hale as the driver, and VanGilder as the boat owner. I spoke with the victims recently, and they still intend to sue. We were also told that no judge in this county will be amused by this "I work under the table" garbage, and that they both can be held in contempt of court for hiding assets. The victims were also told the state has some monetary remedies for people injured in accidents that pays to them (so they can pay their TONS of medical bills), but the state then goes after those responsible. In addition to the fact that all parties have huge piles of medical bills, the Franklin's never could replace their boat. The minimal amount of money they received from their insurance had to go to the ER that treated them.

All of us that love and support the Dr. Goldfain, her husband, and the Franklin's intend to see this to the end. No one will "get off the hook".

That's good to hear they are following thru with it. There's no way They should walk from this Vangilder as well. She owned the boat and let him drive it.

I wish I could tell you what I know about Vangilder and her crazy pot smoking ways. Especially with what has been going on as of lately.

One parting thought, this thread has been going on FOREVER! I understand from what some people say on here that there are still medical issues on both sides and that is tragic and yes the driver should be judged and pay his penance. He is extremely lucky no one was killed that night. But I ask you this, why is there no lynch mob for this kid in the story below??

"A Burbonnais man was killed in a drunken driving accident in Iroquois County. It was a one-vehicle accident and the 19-year-old that was behind the wheel has been charged with aggressive DUI and illegal consumption of alcohol by a minor. The 20-year-old passenger of the vehicle was killed in the accident. The accident occurred at 4:13 a.m. as the car went off of the side of Route 52 and hit a tree on the passenger side of the car."

BECAUSE THIS IS NOT ABOUT THE ACCIDENT! This is about one persons vendetta against someone else. Twisting opinions to form mob action is against the law you know....wonder if you should be sued, think I'll ask a lawyer about that. PEOPLE DON'T BE FOOLED BY ALL THE CRAP ON HERE! The motivation of the ONE person creating most of the uproar UNDER MULTIPLE NAMES is personal hatred, they couldn't care a less about any of the people that were hurt.

Just want to say i read each and every article and i too believe that they deserve to be punished somehow.What I dont like and dont believe is the person suggesting the river has gotten dangerous...I really agree with the fact that conservation will be going overboard on this too.I go out there with my sons on my jet ski and we have fun.There are other times I will go out by myself and have a few beers with me and I dont bother anyone!!!I go to enjoy the scenery of the river and wave at fellow boaters..as well at conservation..I hope the river cops dont let this get to there heads and harass us Normal boating people..Theres too many laws already!!

My prayers are with the doctor and her family I hope that she is doing well. as far as being the only witness I have not been contacted my the States Attorney. I am the one who called the police and help the ambulance driver and everybody else to get across the river to help the other people while my wife stayed with Robin. I wish no harm to any of the victims of this crash. My wife will not even go on the water anymore she is scared to death. Cause that was a real bad night for everybody involved. I like to personally thank the police officer that stay with my wife and David for helping me with the other people. In actual all reality it was a major accident it wasnt done intentionally. Yes someone should be punished for the damage but, everybody keeps blaming the boyfriend. As far as I know everybody had been drinking all lights were on. I was sitting there on my dock watching it. I am so glad that I moved away from all of that. I rather go somewhere else. Just an FYI the DNR will be out there is weekend for sure so be careful and enjoy your holiday. If someone will answer when the next court date is I will show up and tell my side of the story. I have nothing to lose in the end. My prayers go out to everybody who goes on that river and decides that they want to drink. ( I think that is the stupidist thing that I ever heard of. you put to many lives in danger if not your own. they are alot of kids that play on that water and lot of people who enjoy going a nice boat ride every now and again.

Anything new?

Hale cut a deal. He is serving 90 days in jail, getting 30 months felony probation, and has to pay restitution to all the victims for their out-of-pocket expenses. This just happened a week or so ago.

I just saw Hale out and about. He's not in jail. Are you sure he cut a deal? If so than why is he not in jail?

Paul Hale is not in jail. He is out and about living his life free and clear.

He is still out because he refused the plea agreement and is going to trial. He was unhappy with the amount of time in jail he would have to serve. Hopefully, while "out and about", he won't kill anyone.

So what is the out come? 60 days in jail but out everyday to go to work?

Didn't know that there that much Traffic