By Steve Patterson
Chicago Sun Times
Copyright 2007 The Chicago Sun Times

NILES, Ill. — Fearful of a potential lawsuit, north suburban Niles officials want the City of Chicago to preserve all radio dispatches, 911 calls and other emergency communications from the day of the Chicago Marathon.

That's because a Niles ambulance driver, called in to assist for the Oct. 7 race, got lost while transporting collapsed runner Chad Schieber, who was later pronounced dead. The driver had to flag down another ambulance for directions, made radio calls to 911 that were "talked over," then wound up at the wrong emergency room, the filing says.

Niles village attorney Jay Judge said that because "some cities [record over] tapes every 30, 60 or 90 days, we just want to make sure these tapes are preserved."

Though they filed the motion Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court, Judge said he's talked to Chicago officials and "they agreed to protect the records."