CARROLL COUNTY, Ill. – A letter sent from the Illinois Department of Public Health says a local EMS organization identified violations in connection to an off-duty paramedic on the day Jackson Kradle was killed.
A spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) declined to comment further about the case but did confirm the letter was sent by the agency.
The letter, dated Nov. 26, 2024, was written in response to a formal complaint lodged against Savanna Community Ambulance Association Paramedic Amy Hubble for an incident occurring on July 28, 2024.
The Facts
Hubble was a passenger in the truck driven by now-former Carroll County Sheriff’s Deputy Matthew Herpstreith when he allegedly ran over and killed Kradle around 3:30 a.m. on July 28, 2024, according to sworn testimony and police reports.
Authorities say Hubble was the first, and only, qualified medical professional to assess Kradle at the scene of the crash before declaring him dead.
There is no public record of Hubble utilizing medical equipment to verify the declaration of death. And she did not perform any lifesaving measures, according to sworn testimony and police reports.
Shortly after declaring Kradle dead, Mt. Carroll Officer Scott Marth released Hubble and Herpstreith from the scene and relayed Hubble’s assessment to on-duty dispatcher Rebecca Frederick, according to sworn testimony and police reports.
According to inquest testimony, Hubble was released from the scene by around 3:45 a.m. leaving Kradle unattended by a medical professional for more than two hours before the Coroner arrived shortly before 6 a.m.
Hubble has not been criminally charged in connection to Kradle’s death but did admit to driving while intoxicated on a recorded phone call with on-duty Carroll County Dispatcher Rebecca Frederick about four hours before assessing Kradle.
Witness testimony presented at the inquest, in tandem with video footage showing Hubble leaving a local bar, suggest she may have remained intoxicated from the time of the phone call to when she assessed Kradle.
Hubble went on to work a shift as dispatcher for Carroll County from around 7 a.m. to around 5 p.m., according to calls for service logs I obtained through a records request.
Both Hubble and Herpstreith resigned from their respective positions with the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office on July 31, 2024, after being notified they were subjects of an internal investigation related to the death of Kradle, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Frederick was fired in November after a recording of the phone call was discovered and revealed she had provided Hubble with the location of officers to help her avoid being caught driving while intoxicated, according to the termination letter.
A records request I submitted in May revealed Frederick was hired by the Stephenson Co. Sheriff’s Office in December and was still employed with the agency.
In March, Herpstreith was formally charged with multiple felonies, including Reckless Homicide. He is accused of running over and killing Kradle with his truck after allegedly consuming alcohol for several hours.
Herpstreith is set to return to court for a pretrial status hearing Friday at 3 p.m. at the Carroll County Courthouse in Mt. Carroll.
The Letter
IDPH wrote their department, in tandem with the local EMS System Medical Director’s Office, investigated ‘alleged lack of care or treatment by Paramedic Amy Hubble.’
After reviewing appropriate records and interviewing appropriate individuals regarding the complaint, IDPH says they were ‘unable to identify’ violations of The Emergency Medical Services Act, EMS Administrative Rules or the Local EMS System Program Plan.
IDPH says their department must classify each complaint in one of three groups; Valid, Invalid or Undetermined.
The agency wrote that this complaint against Hubble was classified as Undetermined, but added, ‘this classification is not intended and should not be considered as approval of any alleged conduct.’
The letter concludes with the following:
“Due to the seriousness of the allegations, as well as information provided by the individual alleged in wrongdoing, the local EMS System was able to identify violation of their System policies. The System has taken action to ensure the safety of all individuals pending the outcome of the Law Enforcement Investigation. Action by EMS System has been affirmed by the Department.”
The letter did not provide any details about the alleged violations or actions taken.
I reached out to the Association twice since obtaining the letter but they have not responded to my request for comment.
I also reached out to OSF Northern Region EMS but they have not yet responded.
UPDATE: In response to these revelations regarding Hubble, the OSF Northern Region EMS System says they have ‘no comment.’
The Law
Hubble, the City of Savanna and the Savanna Community Ambulance Association have been named as Defendants in a sweeping wrongful death lawsuit filed in July by the attorneys representing Kradle’s family.
The complaint, filed July 24 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Western Division, alleges Hubble was intoxicated and not qualified to render a determination of Kradle’s medical status.
The lawsuit goes on to claim that Hubble, ‘failed to take reasonable action to summon medical care, where she knew from her observations that Jackson Kradle was in need of immediate medical care, with utter indifference to, or in conscious disregard for, the safety of others; and was otherwise negligent or willful and wanton.’
Meanwhile, both the City of Savanna and Savanna Community Ambulance Association have denied my records requests asking for information regarding Hubble’s actions the morning Kradle was killed. Furthermore, neither the City nor the Association would confirm whether or not Hubble remains a paramedic in Carroll County.
The State of Illinois granted my appeal and asked both parties to comply with the records requests, but both the City and Association have maintained their stance that the City has no control over the Association, citing the fact the group is a private nonprofit organization and is not subject to public records requests.
According to Illinois law, ‘A public record that is not in the possession of a public body but is in the possession of a party with whom the agency has contracted to perform a governmental function on behalf of the public body, and that directly relates to the governmental function and is not otherwise exempt under this Act, shall be considered a public record of the public body, for purposes of this Act.‘
The Association has been contracted with the City to perform emergency ambulance services since 2003, according to documents I obtained from the City.
Under Section 4(d) of the contract between the City and Association, the ‘City reserves the right to have conducted, at its own expense, a financial or operational audit of all records of Association concerning the operation of the emergency ambulance service under the terms of this Agreement.’
The Illinois Public Access Counselor is reviewing responses from all parties to determine if further action is warranted.
When asked if Hubble is being investigated for official misconduct, Carroll County State’s Attorney Aaron Kaney deferred to Special Prosecutor Charles Colburn.
“My office turned over the investigation into Jackson’s death to the Illinois Appellate Prosecutor’s Office to handle any charges that could arise out of the investigation due to the conflict of interest or perceived conflict of interest my office would have since it involved employees of the County,” Kaney said. “They have been appointed as a special prosecutor by the Court.”
I reached out to the Illinois Appellate Prosecutor’s Office asking if Hubble is being investigated for official misconduct but they have not yet responded.
The Impact
When asked in Part One of the ‘Not On My Watch’ interview if Hubble’s assessment of Kradle at the scene of the crash had an impact on the subsequent investigation, Carroll County Coroner Matthew Jones told me it ‘certainly carried some weight’ through the first couple of hours.
“The Illinois State Police are the unsung heroes in this case,” Jones said. “They gathered evidence and when that evidence was gathered over the next 48 hours, it became clear to me that…this was really something completely different, that we really were deceived in the information that we were given upfront that morning.”
Through the Illinois State Police (ISP) calls for service log I obtained for the morning of Kradle’s death, we can begin to see how Hubble’s assessment affected the initial response and subsequent investigation.
The time-stamped notes in the log were entered into the system by on-duty ISP dispatcher Mayra Alvarez-Guillen (MAG.)
The following interpretations of MAG’s notes are based on information from sworn testimony, police reports and an autopsy.
At around 3:41 a.m., MAG noted, ‘don’t think it’s a 10-50’ which is police code for a vehicle accident, meaning Hubble did not relay the cause of Kradle’s injuries.
At around 3:50 a.m., MAG noted, “Carroll Co. advised that they wouldn’t be sending fire and EMS due to the subject being ‘code 0′” which is informal code for a death, meaning Hubble’s declaration of death was likely the reason for an ambulance not being dispatched to the scene.
At around 3:52 a.m., MAG noted, “Carroll Co. advised that paramedics are on scene” meaning first responders relied on Hubble’s assessment despite her being off-duty, without proper medical equipment and allegedly intoxicated, implying she was operating in official capacity.
The Lawsuit.
Note: Allegations, with or without merit, in the following complaint do not involve criminal laws, but instead involve violations of civil laws and the U.S. Constitution.
Defendants listed in the complaint are:
- Matthew Herpstreith
- Amy Hubble
- Rebecca Frederick
- Carroll County Sheriff
- Carroll County
- Scott Marth
- City of Mt. Carroll
- City of Savanna
- Savanna Ambulance
- The Copper Cow
- Sippi-Side Pub & Grill
- Sandburr Run
This is a developing story. Updates will be provided as they become available.
Click here to learn more about the Jackson Kradle homicide case.
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