Brake failure blamed

Minivan crash: Coroner's jury rules in drowning death of 3 HN carriers

JOLIET - Three Herald News carriers found dead at the bottom of the Des Plaines River in their minivan were the victims of bad fortune and worse brakes, a coroner's jury ruled at a Thursday afternoon inquest.

The jury determined the deaths of Karen Bockhol, 49, her son Thomas Bockhol, 23, and daughter Tracy Bockhol, 26, were accidental.

Toxicology testing on all three turned up negative. None of the deceased suffered internal or external trauma, and the cause of death for each was determined to be drowning.

The Bockhols disappeared the morning of Feb. 25 while delivering newspapers on the near-West Side route they worked for 23 years. A four-day search for the mother and her two children ended in the Des Plaines riverbed at the foot of Lime Street, where Joliet Fire Department divers found the upside down van and the three carriers - dead inside.

Patrol Officer George Mantis, a state-certified accident reconstructionist with the Joliet Police Department, testified at the inquest that an independent mechanic discovered severe wear on the brake lines of the Bockhols' 1989 Dodge Caravan.

A minor accident the Bockhols were involved in shortly before they plunged into the river might have damaged the brakes further, Mantis said.

"The driver (Karen Bockhol) might have slammed on the brakes to avoid going into the intersection," Mantis said. "That might have been the final blow to the innermost tube (of the brake line)."

Karen Bockhol made a 911 call after the initial accident - a fender bender at the intersection of Bridge and Bluff streets. She declined officer assistance or the opportunity to make out a police report.

Seeking other driver

Police have asked for the other driver involved in the initial accident with the Bockhols' van to come forward, but he has so far proved reluctant.

"In retrospect, we only wish we could have talked to that driver," said Joliet Police Cmdr. James Grace.

During his testimony, Mantis also said the transmission of the Bockhol van was found in park after it was recovered and that the ignition had turned to the off position.

Putting the transmission in park would not have stopped it from rolling down the relatively steep hill of Lime Street.

"It might help it slow down a little - but stop? It depends on how fast you're going," Mantis said.

If the van was moving faster than 10 to 15 mph, as it likely was, Mantis said, the parking pin would not engage and stop the vehicle.

Turning off the ignition, Mantis said, would cut power to the steering and prevent the driver from turning away from the water.

The only surviving member of the Bockhol family, Karen's eldest son Wayne, 29, also testified at the inquest, relating the last time he saw his family and how he grew concerned when they didn't return home from their newspaper route.

He also said he had driven the van two days before his family disappeared and noticed no mechanical problems.

Ownership unknown

Wayne Bockhol was accompanied to the inquest by attorney Daniel Kennedy.

"I'm just trying to help the guy and he asked me if I could come and be there," Kennedy said later. "I really feel sorry for the guy."

Kennedy asked one question at the inquest - who owns the land at the end of Lime where the Bockhols drove into the river.

Kennedy did not get an answer at the inquest.

Russ Lubash, a civil engineer with the public works department, said the city is still trying to determine who owns the property. City officials have said they will try to have a barrier installed once ownership of the land is established.

The Bockhols were not wearing seat belts at the time of the van's recovery.

"All three were in the middle of the van itself," Grace said.

Dale Keith, a social worker for the coroner's office, said, "It looked like they were all tied together in a knot."

After the van's recovery, a window of the vehicle was found rolled down and another broken out.

"I can't think of a worse scenario," Grace said. "It's a hell of a way to go."