The estate of a passenger killed in a UTV crash last year near Hebron received a $1 million settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit against the estate of the UTV driver.
The estate of Bryan Dahm filed a lawsuit against the estate of Ryan Wilson for more than $50,000 in September 2024, according to court documents filed last year. Both Wilson, 40, of Woodstock, and Dahm, 36, also of Woodstock, were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash on Aug. 17, 2024.
Court records show a settlement for $1 million was approved in October by Judge Joel Berg with the amount determined as “fair and reasonable.”
Dahm’s widow will receive 50% of the settlement, while the couple’s two minor children will each receive 25%, according to court records. The attorney representing Dahm’s estate, Ankin Law Group, will get nearly $292,000.
Dahm’s estate claimed in the civil suit, filed in McHenry County court, that Wilson had a “duty to operate his motor vehicle safely and to exercise ordinary care so as to not negligently cause injury to those persons lawfully on the roadway.”
Attorneys representing both parties could not be reached for comment.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office said shortly after the crash that a preliminary investigation showed Wilson was driving the UTV, or utility-terrain vehicle, at a high rate of speed east along Thayer Road near Hebron with two passengers, Dahm and a 35-year-old man from San Carlos, California. About 10:50 p.m., the UTV exited the road and severed a utility pole, knocking down power lines and causing an outage in the area, authorities said.
The UTV rolled several times, ejecting the driver, came to rest upright in a ditch and caught fire, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office. The California man suffered minor injuries and declined medical attention.
Dahm extricated himself from the burning vehicle but then “he stepped on a live electrical wire from the downed utility pole” and was electrocuted, according to the complaint.
Wilson had a blood-alcohol level nearly three times above the legal limit for driving, toxicology reports show. Wilson’s alcohol content was .22 while Dahm’s was .112, according to the reports released under the Freedom of Information Act by the McHenry County Coroner’s office.
Dahm was a married father with a son and a daughter, according to his obituary. Wilson was a married father of three daughters, according to his obituary.
UTVs, or utility-terrain vehicles, also known as side-by-sides, tend to be larger and more expensive than all-terrain vehicles. UTVs are not generally permitted on roads unless the township or homeowners’ association allows them. McHenry County does not have an ordinance on UTV use, officials said previously.