10 things about Chatham, Illinois’s Marianne Akers

Marianne M. Akers is from Chatham, Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. The village is part of the Ball-Chatham School District, which includes three elementary schools including Chatham Elementary School, an intermediate school, a middle school and  Glenwood High School.

Chatham is home to the Youth Needing Other Things (YNOT) after-school camp. Founded in 2002, YNOT is an organization that allows parents to place their kids into a safe, fun, active and stimulating summer environment.

BIOGRAPHY

Akers is also known as Marianne E. Moffat and Marianne E. Morgan. Here are 10 more things about her:

1. Aside from Chatham, she has lived in other parts of Illinois including Auburn and Springfield.
2. She is a former Chatham Elementary School employee.
3. She is a former cafeteria employee of Glenwood High School.
4. From June 2006 to August 2018, she worked for the Illinois State Police, which is based in Springfield.
5. On April 28, 2012, she took to Facebook to share a photo with the words “MORE WINE LESS WHINE”.
6. On December 25, 2015, she took to Facebook to share a photo of four girls and one boy.
7. On May 10, 2016, she updated her Facebook cover photo with a photo of herself with a girl and a boy.
8. In November 2023, she was hired by the Bureau of Business Services of the Illinois Department of Transportation, which is based in Springfield.
9. She was the only person in a vehicle that caused the crash on April 28, 2025 in Chatham that killed four students at the Ball-Chatham School District.
10. In April 2025, she turned 44.

TIMELINE

Akers was an Illinois Department of Transportation employee when she was accused of causing a fatal crash in Chatham on April 28, 2025. She was not injured but she was taken to a hospital for evaluation.

2025

• At 3:20 p.m. on April 28, 2025, she drove a black Jeep that left the road in Chatham, traveled through a field, hit the east side of a building that housed the YNOT after-school camp, drove through the building, hit children and workers and exited the other side. The crash killed counselor Rylee Britton, 18, of Springfield and Chatham children Alma Buhnerkempe, 7, Kathryn Corley, 7, and Ainsley Johnson, 8, and injured six other children.