July 10, 2025
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Trial date set for driver in 2019 hay wagon ride crash near Plano

Re-opened damages case on victim’s behalf to be heard in court next month.

By Lucas Robinson

FILE PHOTO: The aftermath of a crash involving a hayride and a car driven by Kaitlin Minick of Yorkville on River Road near Plano Oct. 12, 2019. Minick's car is on its roof next to the hay wagon and tractor. (Photo provided)

A November trial date in Kendall County Court has been set for Kaitlin G. Minick, a Yorkville woman accused of injuring 11 people after the car she was driving crashed into a hay wagon ride near Plano in October 2019.

Kendall County Judge Robert Pilmer slated the week of Nov. 15 for the beginning of a jury trial against Minick, who faces six counts of aggravated driving under the influence. Minick appeared in court virtually Thursday, June 24 for final trial setting hearing. It’s been nearly a year and a half since the six felony charges were filed against Minick in February 2020.

Minick’s counsel, Yorkville-based attorney Andrew Nickel, agreed to a Sept. 1 trial status hearing.

The charges against Minick stem from an Oct. 12, 2019 incident on River Road between Blackhawk Road and Fox River Drive near Plano. At 5:37 p.m. that evening, Minick’s sedan, which was going west on River Road, struck from behind a hay wagon ride carrying 14 adult passengers, according to police. 11 of the passengers were taken to area hospitals for treatment of injuries ranging from minor to serious, police said.

Police initially cited Minick for failure to reduce speed and operating an uninsured vehicle. But a blood and urine test administered after the crash found traces of an unidentified substance, prompting Minick’s six felony charges.

The Yorkville woman’s attorney filed a motion for independent testing granted by the court in October.

In addition, a re-opened damages case filed by one of the accident’s victims against Minick and the driver of the hayride, Gary Sleezer, will be heard in court next month.

Victim Dominic Milam’s damages case for injuries sustained in the crash was dismissed last August but re-opened in October. A hearing for the case is set for Thursday, July 22.