The Executive Director of the Oswegoland Park District resigned late last week after being charged with a number of felonies related to an alleged attempt to run over a man with his pick-up truck earlier this month.
Thomas Betsinger of Montgomery, who has held the position since 2023, tendered his resignation to the Oswegoland Board of Directors, who announced their acceptance on Friday.
On Sunday July 13th, at approximately 8:40pm, Yorkville Police were dispatched to a business on the 1500 block of Corneils Road in Yorkville. A witness reported a black Toyota pickup truck crashing into multiple vehicles and reportedly attempting to strike a pedestrian.
Upon arrival, officers located damaged property along with several damaged vehicles. The suspect vehicle had fled the scene prior to police arrival but was discovered a short time later approximately one mile east of the original scene, off the roadway in a ditch on Corneils Road. It appeared the driver had lost control of the vehicle.
A preliminary investigation revealed surveillance video from the business which showed the suspect vehicle driving off the parking lot surface in what appears to be an intentional attempt to strike a pedestrian multiple times before crashing into two parked vehicles and fleeing the area.
Betsinger, 50, was located near the vehicle and taken into custody by Yorkville Police without further incident. He was transported to the Kendall County Jail and booked on charges of Aggravated Assault (three counts); Criminal Damage to Property (one count); Attempted Reckless Homicide (one count); and Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol (one count).
In accepting the resignation, the Oswegoland Park District said a statement: “The Park District is committed to upholding our core values of integrity, innovation, and collaboration, while holding our officers and employees to the highest standards of conduct.”
[Editor’s Note: Fox Valley Magazine’s longstanding policy is to omit the identity of individuals merely accused of a crime, on the grounds of fairness. Once convicted, we identify the defendant. In this instance, however, it is not possible to separate the resignation of Mr. Betsinger from his alleged, and we emphasize alleged, involvement in the incident leading to his arrest. We remind our readers that Mr. Betsinger remains innocent until he is convicted in a court of law.]
