Mt. Carroll officer dropped from Kradle lawsuit, Sheriff’s Office redirects blame

CARROLL COUNTY, Ill. – The Mt. Carroll police officer, who allowed the man allegedly responsible for Jackson Kradle’s death to leave the scene, has been dropped from the family’s wrongful death lawsuit.

Scott Marth has been a police officer in Carroll County since 1996. He was hired full-time with the Mt. Carroll Police Department in 2019 initially to fill the vacancy of the chief position, city records show.

Marth was working as a patrol officer the morning Kradle was fatally struck by a vehicle near Mt. Carroll in July 2024.

The lawsuit accused Marth of allowing the two who reported finding the body to leave the scene ‘without conducting any investigation into their involvement.’

In March, one of the two individuals were criminally charged for their alleged involvement in Kradle’s death.

Meanwhile, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office argues none of their employees were responsible for Kradle’s death.

In addition to Officer Marth, we will cover the formal legal responses from the Sheriff’s Office as well as the paramedic who declared Kradle dead on scene.

The Facts.

The following details were obtained through public records requests and sworn testimony.

At around 3:31 a.m. on July 28, 2024, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office received a call through the non-emergency line from now-former deputy Matthew Herpstreith, and now-former dispatcher and paramedic Amy Hubble, who were off-duty, reporting they had found a body in the road on Illinois Route 78 just north of Mt. Carroll.

^{Off-duty deputy Matt Herpstreith uses non-emergency line to report finding body. (Carroll County)}

Although the body was located outside Mt. Carroll’s jurisdiction, Marth was dispatched to the scene as the closest on-duty law enforcement officer at the time.

Marth arrived on scene around 3:36 a.m. but when Carroll County Deputy Josi Anderson arrived around 3:46 a.m., Marth had already allowed Hubble and Herpstreith to leave.

According to the department’s policies and procedures we obtained earlier this year, Mt. Carroll officers are expected to identify ‘all persons present at the scene and in the immediate area.’

However, any potential witnesses ‘should not be detained absent reasonable suspicion to detain or probable cause to arrest.’

The lawsuit alleges Marth made ‘visual observations’ of Herpstreith and Hubble which ‘reasonably supported evidence of criminal conduct,’ and knew that ‘allowing them to leave the scene without conducting any investigation into their involvement in the death of Kradle would conceal and obscure evidence.’

Marth wrote in his report, and affirmed in sworn testimony at the inquest, Herpstreith and Hubble acted ‘normal and professional’ and he did not smell any alcohol nor observe any damage on the truck.

Hubble remains listed as a defendant in the lawsuit and is accused of being intoxicated and not qualified to render a determination of Kradle’s medical status when she declared him dead.

In Nov. 2024, the Illinois Department of Public Health found that the OSF Northern Region EMS System determined Hubble violated EMS policies the morning Kradle died, in a letter I obtained in July.

Furthermore, Herpstreith is charged with Reckless Homicide, a Class 3 Felony, for allegedly drinking alcohol since the late afternoon the prior day, and was ‘otherwise distracted and tired’ when he drove his truck into and over Kradle.

Herpstreith is also charged with Attempting to Obstruct Justice, a Class A Misdemeanor, after police say he is the man seen on video at a Savanna car wash less than 30 minutes after leaving the scene ‘to wash away bodily tissue and fluids and destroy evidence’ of his truck running over Kradle.

The video was played at the Coroner’s Inquest last winter but Illinois State Police denied our request for a copy of the footage, citing the ongoing criminal case.

In April, Herpstreith pled Not Guilty to the charges. He is set to return to court Feb. 20 for a pretrial conference.

Lawsuit dismissed.

On Sep. 22, the defense for Marth filed a motion to dismiss charges of violating the First and Fourteenth Amendments’ rights of access to the courts by allegedly not conducting a ‘worthy’ or ‘substantive’ investigation before deeming the ‘true offenders’ to be witnesses.

The defense argues that because a wrongful death lawsuit is currently being litigated, and criminal proceedings are ongoing, Kradle’s rights of access to the courts are not being violated, thus, Marth should be removed from the lawsuit.

‘Plaintiffs have failed to identify any instance of the loss or inadequate settlement of a meritorious case, the loss of an opportunity to sue, or the loss of an opportunity to seek some particular order of relief stemming from the alleged conduct of Defendant Marth.’

On Nov. 18, the lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice for both Marth and the City of Mt. Carroll.

Sheriff’s Office.

On Oct. 15, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office submitted their formal response to the allegations raised in the lawsuit.

At the time of the alleged incident, the county denies Herpstreith and Hubble were agents or employees acting within the scope of their employment for the Sheriff’s Office.

For an unknown reason, the county denies the allegation Hubble contacted dispatch at around 11:22 p.m. the night Kradle died to, ‘obtain information where on-duty police officers were patrolling to evade these police officers while driving intoxicated.’

However, we have already obtained a recording of the call along with the dispatcher’s termination letter.

The county denies that the conduct of the dispatcher and Hubble ‘increased the risk of harm to other motorists and pedestrians.’

Furthermore, the county denies, ‘all negligent acts or omissions, and deny all allegations of direct or proximate cause of sustained injuries resulting in death.’

The county argues they are entitled to immunity, citing the Illinois Tort Immunity Act, which states, ‘A local public entity is not liable for an injury resulting from an act or omission of its employee where the employee is not liable.’ Adding, Herpstreith, Hubble and the dispatcher Rebecca Frederick, ‘are not liable for the acts or omissions alleged in Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint.’

The county’s second defense claims it was the duty of Kradle himself to ‘exercise reasonable care for his own safety.’

The county argues Kradle’s consumption of alcohol and marijuana prevented him from avoiding being struck by a vehicle.

Adding, Kradle was, ‘otherwise negligent in causing a motor vehicle to collide with him while he was too close to, walking within, laying upon, or otherwise within the lanes of traffic on Illinois State Route 78.’

Furthermore, the county accuses Kradle’s father, Joshua Sisler, of failing to exercise reasonable care for his son’s safety.

The county claims Sisler was negligent in providing or supplying alcohol to Kradle on his property and by allowing him to leave his home while intoxicated and impaired leading to the fatal crash on Illinois Route 78.

The county is asking the court to consider if the ‘comparative negligence’ of Sisler exceeds 50%, and if so, any judgement for the Plaintiffs ‘shall be reduced by Sisler’s percentage of negligence.’

An autopsy found Kradle’s blood alcohol level was .192, in addition to THC, making him susceptible to significant impairment and potential blackouts.

At the inquest, Carroll County Coroner Matthew Jones said Kradle may not have been upright at the time he was fatally struck by a vehicle.

Nonetheless, after two days-worth of evidence and witness testimony, a coroner’s jury ruled Kradle’s death a Homicide, citing Herpstreith’s negligence as the primary contributor in the fatal crash.

Amy Hubble.

On Dec. 15, consistent with her testimony at the Coroner’s Inquest, Hubble asserted her rights under the Fifth Amendment and declined to answer to any of the allegations of misconduct in the complaint.

However, in regard to any potential settlement, Hubble’s defense ‘denies that Plaintiffs are entitled to compensatory damages; denies Plaintiffs are entitled to an award of reasonable attorneys fees, costs, and litigation expenses; and denies Plaintiff’s are entitled to other relief.’

In conclusion, Hubble’s defense is demanding a jury trial, but is also asking the court to grant judgement in her favor and dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice.

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