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Chase ends in fatal crash
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Social media post prompts 2 lockdowns Police: Post was ‘misconstrued’ and not intended as a threat By BRETT ROWLAND browland@shawmedia.com
Photos by Monica Synett – msynett@shawmedia.com
The DeKalb County Coroner pronounced Brian Nord, 35, of Yorkville, dead Monday at the scene of a truck rollover accident where the truck stopped on the train tracks near Route 30 in unincorporated Waterman, west of Pine Street and east of Leland Road.
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By ADAM POULISSE apoulisse@shawmedia.com WATERMAN – The driver of a stolen pickup truck led police on a chase for miles Monday between Hinckley and Waterman before he lost control of the vehicle and was killed, authorities said. A Hinckley police officer attempted to stop Brian Nord, 35, a transient from the Yorkville area, who was driving a red Chevy Silverado pickup about 1:10 p.m. after seeing items flying out of the bed of the truck, Waterman Police Chief Charles Breese said. “Unfortunately, he didn’t stop, and increased his speed,” Breese said. Police pursued Nord until the chase ended along Route 30 near Pine Road in Waterman, when the truck went off the road, into a ditch and rolled a couple of times to rest on its roof on the train tracks on the opposite side of a small hill, Breese said. Nord, who was the only person in the vehicle, was pronounced dead by the coroner’s office at the scene of the crash. Debris such as large buckets, chimney cleaning tools and pieces of the truck littered the ditch. “This wasn’t here before,” Breese said at the scene. “It’s all from
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Lovett’s Towing removes the truck that rolled over onto train tracks Monday near Route 30 in unincorporated Waterman, west of Pine Street and east of Leland Road. the back of his truck.” Lettering along the side of the pickup truck advertised a business called Valley Chimney Sweep in Yorkville. The vehicle belongs to the company, but the truck was stolen shortly before noon Monday from a parking lot at a Rosati’s pizza restaurant on Route 47 in Yorkville, said Wendy Dearborn, office manager at Valley Chimney Sweep. “The guys went in to get a slice of pizza, and turned around and the truck was headed down the
road,” Dearborn said. Dearborn said the employees had left the keys in the ignition but could not see the vehicle through the plate glass window because the blinds had been closed to keep out the sun. “In broad daylight. I said, ‘I can’t believe it,’ ” Dearborn said. “I guess we have to be careful even out here now.” Train traffic was stopped in the area as authorities investigated the crash, Sgt. Van Bomar said. Lovett’s Towing removed the truck from the tracks about 3:15
p.m. Firefighters from Shabbona, Waterman and Hinckley responded, along with police from Hinckley, Waterman and the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office. Breese said the Hinckley officer who initially tried to stop the pickup was taken to the hospital because he was feeling “a little stressed.” “I’m sorry that guy’s dead,” Dearborn said, “but in a way I’m not, because he would have done it to somebody else. “Fortunately, he didn’t hit anybody else or kill anybody else.” According to records from the Kendall County Circuit Clerk, Nord was charged in 2011 with possession of a stolen vehicle. According to media reports, Nord stole a 1998 BMW in St. Charles before stealing a vacuum cleaner from Kohl’s. He eventually ran out of gas on the side of the road.
• Daily Chronicle Editor Eric R. Olson contributed to this story.
KIRKLAND – A misinterpreted post on a social media app spooked parents and caused two school districts to go into lockdown mode Monday as students returned from spring break. Hiawatha Community Unit School District 426 went into what administrators called a modified soft lockdown Monday morning after district officials learned about a post on Yik Yak that raised safety concerns for students. Genoa-Kingston Community Unit School District 424 also was placed on lockdown after the post was tracked to a Genoa-Kingston High School student. The post read “for those about to die, we salute you,” Kirkland police Sarah Willey Chief Paul Lindstrom said. Yik Yak offers users an anonymous “forum to interact with other Yik Yak users in the same area,” according to the company’s website. Users can post, share comments and respond to comments posted by others. After interviewing the student, DeKalb County police determined students were never in danger and the post was not intended as a threat. The statement is a phrase often associated with gladiators in ancient Rome. But it had already rattled some in the community. “A parent brought in a posting with an implied threat and it was unclear if it was directed at our school,” District 426 Superintendent Sarah Willey said. As a precaution, District 426 implemented the modified soft lockdown, which kept students in the buildings, but didn’t restrict their movement inside the schools. The district also notified parents and canceled all after-school activities. “We we’re being proactive,” Willey said. Even so, some parents picked their students up from school early, she said. Susan Zuberbier, a District 426 parent, told her son to come home from school early after exchanging a series of text messages with him. The teen told Zuberbier that he was scared and “didn’t want to be shot.” “It was a nightmare,” Zuberbier said. “That is the last thing you’d ever expect in the Kirkland school system.” Zuberbier said she thought school officials should have notified parents earlier or canceled classes altogether. After getting an alert from the school district about 10 a.m. Monday and later seeing a screen shot of the post on social media, fellow District 426 parent Jennifer Sunderlage had her husband pick up her four children at school. “As a mom, when you see something like that, you kind of panic,” she said. “I didn’t want my kids at the school.” She said she understands the difficult task school administrators faced in wanting to keep parents informed without causing unnecessary chaos. However, she would have liked a more prompt response from the district. Sunderlage said she heard of other parents who found out
See LOCKDOWNS, page A6
Duckworth makes video announcement for 2016 Senate bid By SOPHIA TAREEN The Associated Press CHICAGO – Democratic U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois announced Monday she’s running for U.S. Senate in 2016, setting up a high-profile challenge to Republican Sen. Mark Kirk’s re-election bid. “I’m running for the United States Senate in 2016 because it’s time for Washington to be held accountable and to put Illinois’ families and communities first,” she said in a largely autobi-
ographical video posted Monday to her campaign website. “I will fight my heart out to represent you with honor and integrity.” Duckworth is the first major candidate to announce a challenge to Kirk, and the matchup in Democrat-friendly Illinois could be one of the most competitive nationwide as Democrats battle to regain Senate control. The Hoffman Estates Democrat is serving a second term in Illinois’ 8th District, which covers suburbs west and northwest of Chi-
cago. Duckworth is an Iraq war veteran who served as Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs under President Barack Obama. Previously, she was director of the Illinois Depart- Tammy ment of Vet- Duckworth erans Affairs after an unsuccessful bid for Congress in 2006. Kirk, who won the Senate seat held by Obama in 2010,
said through a spokesman Monday that he’s served as a “voice for all the people of Illinois.” “Sen. Kirk looks forward to a conversation on the issues that matter most to voters across the state including his proven record of thoughtful, independent leadership, and his work each and every day to serve Illinois families,” Kirk spokesman Kevin Artl said. He also noted Kirk’s work on cutting spending and taking on the “Veterans Administration for corruption.” Kirk was previously a five-
term U.S. representative representing Chicago’s suburbs. In 2012, he suffered a major stroke and underwent many grueling months of recovery learning how to walk and speak, which raised questions about if he would seek a second term. Kirk has said he thinks the stroke raised his profile and that his disability, for which he has to rely on a cane or wheelchair at times, gives him a unique advantage. Duckworth also has overcome major physical setbacks. In 2004, she lost both
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legs and part of an arm after the Black Hawk helicopter she was co-piloting was shot down in Iraq. She also relies on crutches or a wheelchair at times. “I view my time now as a bonus and that has allowed me to speak up without fear,” she said in the video where also describes herself as the daughter of a Marine, a wife and a new mom. She hinted at her platform, mentioning a need for more pre-kindergarten, affordable college loans and a focus on small businesses.
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