Elgin man charged with the deaths of Campton Hills siblings after crashing into a school bus

CAMPTON TOWNSHIP — In a previous My Huntley News story, area residents learned about an accident that had occurred between a school bus transporting students from Lily Lake Grade School (5N720 Route 47, Maple Park) and a 2013 Lexus SUV.

The crash took place on Oct. 31 in the area of Empire Road between Burlington Road and Route 47, where it was reported that the SUV slammed into the back of the school bus while it was stopped near the intersection of Kingswood Drive to drop off a student.

Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain stated in a news conference that the 18-year-old driver of the SUV did not appear to make any attempts to slow down at the time of the collision.

There were three other individuals inside the SUV when the accident occurred.

The driver sustained non-life-threatening injuries as a result of the crash, however, one of the passengers, a 17-year-old female from South Elgin, had to be transported to Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital in Geneva and later airlifted to Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago to treat her severe injuries.

The two other passengers, a brother and sister, unfortunately, did not survive the accident. The Kane County Coroner’s Office later identified the pair as 19-year-old Emil Diewald and 20-year-old Grace Diewald of Campton Hills, as the two fatalities resulting from blunt-force trauma due to the crash.

On Jan. 6, the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office announced that Tyler A. Schmidt, 18, of the 43W block of Southgate Road in Elgin, was formally being charged with DUI offenses that resulted in the deaths of the Diewald siblings.

Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser and Hain jointly stated that a grand jury indicted Schmidt for the following offenses:

Aggravated driving under the influence of drugs, a Class 2 felony; reckless homicide, a Class 3 felony; aggravated DUI, a Class 4 felony; and aggravated reckless driving, a Class 4 felony.

Mosser and Hain allege that on Oct. 31, Schmidt was driving over the posted speed limit in unincorporated Campton Township when his SUV struck the rear of a Burlington Central School District 301 bus.

Schmidt was reportedly under the influence of marijuana when the crash occurred. Neither the bus driver nor any of the children onboard the bus were injured. All of the students were able to be released to their families upon being inspected by medical personnel on scene.

Kane County Judge Julia Yetter set Schmidt’s bail at $100,000 with 10% ($10,000) to apply for bond. He appeared in court on Jan. 6, where he was able to be released from custody on electronic home monitoring (EHM).

According to Mosser and Hain, while on EHM, Schmidt is not allowed to drive without a valid license, and may only leave home to go to work, attend medical, counseling, or attorney appointments, and must submit to random drug and alcohol testing.

A GoFundMe was started shortly after the news of the accident broke in an attempt to assist the Diewald family with their tragic loss. Over $50,000 was able to be raised to help the family with funeral costs and other future expenses.

Schmidt will appear in court again on Jan. 20 for a status hearing of his case. The Kane County Sheriff’s Office and the Kane County Accident Reconstruction Team conducted the investigation.