Rock Falls athlete paralyzed at Sterling High School track meet files lawsuit against schools, park district

MORRISON – A Rock Falls student athlete who suffered a broken neck that left him partially paralyzed during a March 15 track meet has filed a lawsuit against Sterling’s park district, the Sterling School District and Rock Falls High School District in connection with the injury.

Dylan Wescott, 18, was participating at that meet as a member of the Rock Falls High School track team when he tripped in the pit’s sand, collided head first with a wall and damaged his spinal cord while completing a practice run at the triple long jump pit inside the park district’s Westwood Fitness and Sports Center. The indoor track meet was hosted by the Sterling School District, which had rented the complex’s field house for the March 15 event.

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Wescott is alleging willful and wanton misconduct on the part of all three defendants in regard to athletes being directed to use the triple long jump pit, which he said is too short, too close to a concrete wall and too unsafe for athletes to use.

According to the lawsuit, filed June 17, the field house features an oval-shaped track at the center of the facility and previously included two separate sand pits for use in the long jump and triple jump track and field events.

The lawsuit contends that following a major renovation in 2015, the Sterling Park District chose to remove one of the pits located in the southeast section of the building, citing safety concerns and track meet event management considerations as the basis for its removal. But despite eliminating the Southeast Pit during the 2015 renovation for safety and meet management issues, the lone triple jump pit that remained at the field house following the 2015 renovation had various safety issues of its own, including the back of the pit being dangerously positioned on the outside of the oval track less than 5 feet away from the concrete wall, the lawsuit states.

Wescott alleges that countless high school track athletes were routinely directed to practice the triple jump by sprinting down the runway and into the pit, where they would collide with a Porter Athletic wall pad at high speeds and use their hands, feet, and other parts of their bodies to come to an abrupt stop. Wescott alleges the athletes had a false sense of security that the padding would prevent injuries.

Wescott also claims repeated use caused significant wear and damage to the padding, including multiple punctures and tears at the bottom from track spikes, noticeable discoloration of the vinyl covering from repeated contact, and the need for Sterling Park District personnel to resecure the pad to the wall on several occasions to prevent it from detaching or falling off the wall.

He said the athletes were not aware of the dangers and that the park district could have “easily eliminated any patent or latent risks arising from the Southwest Pit’s proximity with the concrete south wall by simply relocating the Southwest Pit a few feet north and away from the concrete wall.”

The lawuit also states that Sterling Park District, Sterling High School, and Rock Falls High School had knowledge that the design of the pit was unsafe in regard to the length. Wescott maintains the pit was 21 feet long but should have been extended to 23 feet after National Federation of State High School Association track and field rules were amended in 2020 to require triple jump pits to be at least 23 feet in length to ensure the pit measurements were within industry standards for safety.

Wescott claims that Sterling Park District, Sterling High School, and Rock Falls High School knew the 2020 NFHS amendment also was adopted by the Illinois High School Association, which is the governing body that oversees the organization, rules and state championships for both boys and girls track and field, as well as other high school sports and activities throughout the state of Illinois.

Wescott also claims the pit was not uniform in depth, with certain sections of the pit being less than 12 inches deep, which he said is in violation of applicable NFHS and IHSA rules.

He also claims uneven depth in the sandpit created a tripping hazard that might cause a participant to lose their balance, particularly when the surface is not raked prior to use. Wescott took his practice run after several other athletes had done so, according to the lawsuit. He said the park district and school staff members’ failure to rake the uneven sand caused by each athlete’s abrupt deceleration to avoid hitting the wall created a dangerous trip hazard.

Wescott is demanding a jury trial, and is asking for compensation for damages that include great pain, discomfort, disfigurement and physical impairment; future pain and suffering; future financial loss; and large sums of money already spent for hospital, medical and surgical services, nursing care and endeavoring to become healed and cured of his injuries, among other damages.

A case management conference is set for 9 a.m. Sept. 15 at the Whiteside County Courthouse.