‘Not on my watch’: Meet the Coroner who broke Jackson Kradle homicide case wide open

CARROLL COUNTY, Ill. – A family and community were rocked one year ago after an 18-year-old Mt. Carroll man was found dead in the road.

^{Parade in Shannon, Ill. (Janessa Anderson)}

The man who died was 2024 West Carroll High School graduate Jackson Kradle, who had recently turned 18 when he was struck and killed by a vehicle in the early morning hours of July 28, 2024, on Illinois Route 78 just north of Mt. Carroll.

After nearly six months of rumor and speculation spreading through the community, a jury was convened for a coroner’s inquest in January 2025 to determine the manner of death; accident, suicide or homicide.

The formal court proceeding revealed bombshell evidence and witness testimony detailing the circumstances surrounding Kradle’s death and the individuals allegedly responsible.

***^{Carroll Co. Courthouse in Mt. Carroll, Ill.}***

After two long days at the Carroll County Courthouse in Mt. Carroll, the coroner’s jury ruled Kradle’s death a homicide, alleging the driver of the suspected truck that ran over Kradle had been drinking alcohol for several hours when the collision occurred.

The alleged driver of the truck was identified as now-former Carroll County Sheriff’s Deputy Matthew Herpstreith. His passenger was identified as now-former Carroll County Dispatcher, and Savanna Ambulance paramedic, Amy Hubble.

Police reports and inquest testimony revealed the first on-duty law enforcement officer to arrive to the scene was Mt. Carroll Officer Scott Marth, who subsequently released both Herpstreith and Hubble from the scene within ten minutes upon arrival despite being in the county’s jurisdiction.

Marth stated in his reports he did not smell alcohol and that both Herpstreith and Hubble acted ‘normal and professional.’

There was no breathalyzer nor field sobriety test performed that morning.

More than two months later, in March, Special Prosecutor Charles Colburn formally charged Herpstreith with multiple felonies, including Reckless Homicide, Reckless Conduct and Obstructing Justice.

**^{Matthew Herpstreith (Illinois State Polic}*^e)***

Herpstreith is accused of fatally running over Kradle with his truck while under the influence of alcohol before trying to destroy evidence by washing the bottom of the truck at a car wash in Savanna shortly after leaving the scene. He is also accused of providing a false written statement to Carroll County Sheriff Ryan Kloepping, claiming he ‘swerved around’ the body.

Carroll County Coroner Matthew Jones, who led the coroner’s inquest, says he believes criminal charges may have never been filed without the inquest.

***^{Carroll Co. Coroner Matthew Jones}***

This summer I was granted an exclusive one-on-one interview with Jones, where he gives his full perspective on why he took the gamble to hold an inquest before criminal charges were filed, and why he believes all coroners have a ‘role to play’ when investigating suspicious deaths that appear to be on a path of being unresolved.

Watch Part 1 of ‘Not On My Watch’