Hinsdale cafe urges immediate bollards after 2025 crash; village staff says barriers ready pending survey

Angela Lavelli, owner of Cafe La Fortuna, told the Hinsdale Board of Trustees she faces a March 16, 2026 insurance deadline and asked the village to install protective bollards outside her storefront after a Sept. 29, 2025 crash that struck a bench and severely injured two patrons.

"If we don't acquire a new insurance, we cannot open, placing myself and my employees' families at a risk of losing our primary source of income and facing bankruptcy," Lavelli said, laying out the business impact and saying insurers had declined to renew because protective barriers were not in place.

Lavelli described the crash at 46 Village Place and said the bench previously permitted on village property was removed after the incident; she said insurers told her they would not issue coverage without bollards installed in front of the storefront.

The board’s police chief later provided a status update. The chief said staff met with Lavelli and Public Services to identify placements for Jersey barriers and that the village had received an engineering survey that afternoon. "We're pretty ready to go…we're just waiting for that survey," the chief said, adding that the project "should be a go." The chief characterized the planned protection as Jersey barriers rather than traditional anchored bollards.

President Hart and staff said they had been in contact with Lavelli and would work with her on logistics; no formal board action or vote was recorded on the record that night. Lavelli thanked the board for the update and said she appreciated staff cooperation.

Next steps identified in the meeting record: staff will coordinate placement and finalize installation plans now that the survey was reported received.