‘Where’s the cops?’: 3 county employees remain implicated in death of Jackson Kradle 2 years later

CARROLL COUNTY, Ill. — Three former employees of the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office are not yet off the hook for their involvement in the tragic death of Jackson Kradle two years ago.

On July 28, 2024, at around 3:31 a.m., the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office received a call from an off-duty deputy reporting he, and an off-duty dispatcher, who is also a paramedic, found a body, later identified as Kradle, in the roadway on Route 78, just north of Mount Carroll.

The driver was identified as Matthew Herpstreith of Savanna, and his passenger was identified as Amy Hubble of Savanna. Both resigned from their respective positions with the Sheriff’s Office three days after the incident.

Internal documents from the Sheriff’s Office had revealed both Herpstreith and Hubble were subjects of an ongoing Illinois State Police investigation into the death of Kradle.

An autopsy report revealed Kradle had been fatally struck by a single vehicle, moving at a high speed, some time shortly before the two off-duty employees reported finding his body.

The on-duty dispatcher who took Herpstreith’s call was identified as Rebecca Frederick. She was later fired from the Sheriff’s Office for a separate call she took from Hubble about four hours prior to the incident.

In January 2025, a coroner’s jury ruled Kradle’s death was a homicide after being presented with bombshell evidence and witness testimony identifying Herpstreith as the driver of the truck that struck and killed Kradle.

In March 2025, Illinois State Special Prosecutor Charles Colburn formally charged Herpstreith with multiple felonies, including Reckless Homicide and Obstruction of Justice.

Neither Hubble nor Frederick have been criminally charged in connection to Kradle’s death. However, two years after the incident, both have been denied by a federal judge to be dismissed from an ongoing wrongful death lawsuit filed by Kradle’s family in July 2025.

But why would Herpstreith’s passenger, and the on-duty dispatcher, be found liable for the death if they weren’t driving the truck that allegedly killed Kradle?

Two phone calls may provide the answer.

Shift begins.

On July 27, 2024, the evening prior to Kradle’s death, at around 5:30 p.m., Rebecca Frederick began her shift as a dispatcher for the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office. Her superior would arrive shortly after, at around 6 p.m.

Frederick was hired as a part-time dispatcher only a few months prior to her July 27 shift, and hadn’t begun working full-time for the county until the beginning of June that year.

Up to the night of July 27, Frederick had been accompanied by a superior while working, and was still in training.

She had not yet worked a shift as a solo dispatcher.

The call before the call.

Meanwhile, from late afternoon and into the evening, authorities say Matthew Herpstreith was consuming alcohol at various places in Carroll County, including places where Kradle, members of Kradle’s family, and Hubble, were also in attendance.

At around 11:22 p.m., Hubble is believed to be actively driving a vehicle when she uses the non-emergency line to call Frederick to check on her while she is working.

Hubble calls Frederick around 11:22 p.m.

In this call, Hubble is heard saying, ‘I’m so drunk and I’m headed to the Sandburr,’ before asking Frederick, ‘Where’s the cops?’ Admitting, ‘I shouldn’t be driving.’

After initially telling Hubble she should go home, Frederick ultimately informs Hubble, ‘You have no cops around you.’

At around the time of the call, authorities say Herpstreith, who is in a separate vehicle from Hubble, was headed to the Sandburr bar with his wife to meet friends.

Collision course.

After leaving the Sandburr bar around 12:30 a.m., authorities say Herpstreith dropped his wife off at home and went to the Sippiside bar to meet the same group of friends.

At around 2:13 a.m., authorities say Herpstreith left Sippiside to go to Hubble’s home to pick up Hubble, and fellow off-duty dispatcher Kayla Russell, to give Russell a ride to her home located in Mount Carroll.

Meanwhile, at around 2:30 a.m., authorities say Kradle left his dad’s home in Mount Carroll and started walking northbound toward a family cabin located just north of town.

Soon after, authorities say Herpstreith, Hubble and Russell stopped at Herpstreith’s home for about 10 minutes before dropping Russell off at her home around 3:05 a.m.

At around 3:20 a.m., authorities say Herpstreith began driving his truck northbound on Route 78 with Hubble in the passenger seat.

About ten minutes later, both of them are heard in a phone call via the non-emergency line, connected with Frederick, reporting they found a body in the roadway.

Herpstreith and Hubble report finding body.

Just a half hour prior to the call, Frederick’s superior had left for the night, leaving her alone as the county’s solo dispatcher – for the first time in her career.

Consequences.

According to the autopsy report, Kradle is believed to have been either laying face down on the road, or crawling, when a vehicle ran into and over him causing fatal injuries, including skull fractures, hemorrhage over the brain, and brain swelling.

Hubble, who is a trained paramedic, claimed she observed ‘blood and brain matter’ coming out of his ears, and heard an agonal breath, while assessing Kradle on scene.

According to Coroner Matthew Jones, actual brain matter was not observed on or near Kradle on scene.

When asked at the inquest what her initial thoughts were during Herpstreith’s call, Frederick testified, “I thought it was a prank,” Adding, “They knew that I was nervous and that it was my first night by myself.”

Frederick testified she reached the conclusion she should not dispatch an ambulance when on-duty Carroll County deputy Josi Anderson instructed her not to.

Anderson arrived on scene around 3:46 a.m. when both Hubble and Herpstreith had already been released from the scene by Mount Carroll Officer Scott Marth.

At around 4:03 a.m., a man authorities believe to be Herpstreith is seen on surveillance footage pulling into a car wash in Savanna and spraying the bottom of a truck matching the description of Herpstreith’s truck.

Illinois State Police inspected Herpstreith’s truck that night where they found pieces of Kradle’s shorts stuck on the bottom, with biological material matching Kradle’s DNA.

Both Hubble and Herpstreith were interviewed twice by state police investigators where they maintained the narrative that they had drove around the body before returning and reporting it to the on-duty dispatcher Frederick.

Both Hubble and Herpstreith have since invoked their right to remain silent under the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution in regards to discussing any details about their actions the morning Kradle was found dead.

Nearly four months later, in November 2024, Frederick was fired by Sheriff Kloepping after the 11:22 p.m. call was discovered revealing she had given Hubble information about the location of cops to avoid being caught driving while intoxicated.

Frederick was later hired by the Stephenson County Sheriff’s Office to be a dispatcher, where she remains employed.

Liability.

All three individuals were named in the sweeping wrongful death lawsuit filed in federal court last year.

According to court records, a judge has consistently granted Herpstreith’s request for the case to be paused pending his criminal trial in Carroll County.

Hubble had also been granted a Stay for the case pending Herpstreith’s criminal trial. However, earlier this summer a judge only granted a partial Stay, ordering her to produce phone numbers and carrier information of any cellular devices she used the morning Kradle was found dead.

In a preliminary hearing for Herpstreith last year, the state claimed Hubble had deleted text messages communicating with Herpstreith from the morning of the incident.

Frederick’s legal team had requested a judge to outright dismiss her from the wrongful death lawsuit, arguing the 11:22 p.m. phone call is insufficient to consider her liable for Herpstreith’s actions and Kradle’s subsequent death.

The judge disagreed and denied their request.

“The allegation that Frederick provided information about the whereabouts of police to Hubble, a passenger in Herpstreith’s car, plausibly supports a claim that Frederick’s communications enabled Herpstreith to continue driving while impaired.”

What’s next?

Herpstreith is set to return to court for a status hearing in the criminal case on Aug. 7 at 3 p.m. at the Carroll County Courthouse in Mount Carroll.

A jury trial is expected to begin as early as the second week of November, court documents show.

Hubble will need to produce phone records in the civil case while Frederick will now need to produce a formal response to the allegations lodged against her.

It is unclear whether or not Hubble is still working as a paramedic. The Illinois Department of Public Health affirmed that the OSF EMS System had identified violations committed by Hubble the morning Kradle was found dead, and that subsequent actions were taken. However, no further details have been given.

Savanna Ambulance will not answer any questions regarding Hubble or her employment status, citing the fact they are a private nonprofit organization not subject to public requests.

Herpstreith’s employment status is also unknown.