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(KMOV) - The family of the Metro East boy killed by an 84-year-old driver wants mandatory restrictions on elderly drivers.

In a bizarre twist, reportedly the woman who plowed through the school cafeteria was headed to a safe driving class for senior citizens.   

With a picture of 8-year-old Ryan Wesling in front of them, two friends of the boy's parents read a statement from Ryan's mother, attacking the 84-year-old driver of the car who yesterday crashed through the cafeteria of Shiloh Elementary School, fatally striking the boy.

Shiloh police now believe the driver, Grace Keim, 84, of Belleville was headed to a safe driving class at the senior citizens center just a couple of blocks from the crash scene. They think she might have become confused by the street that dead ends at the school, swerved left, grazed a low wall and railing, completed a full 360 and only then crashed through what is essentially drywall with protective exterior siding.

While Ryan's family says they want mandatory restrictions on elderly drivers, Shiloh's police chief says the 84-year-old driver has a clean driving record.

Grace Keim did not respond to our repeated efforts to contact her.

Police say it could be weeks before they conclude the investigation and turn their results over to the St. Clair County State's Attorney.

The superintendent now says about 20 other students were in the cafeteria yesterday. Two other children were hurt, each was treated at a hospital and released Monday.

Illinois already has some of the toughest driver's license requirements for older drivers.

Any driver 75 or older must pass a road test to get a license renewal.

Starting at age 81, drivers can only renew their licenses for two years instead of four.

And starting at age 87, drivers can only renew their licenses for one year.

Missouri has no road tests for older drivers.

**PREVIOUS STORY**

SHILOH, Ill. (AP) -- The mother of a second-grader killed when an 84-year-old woman plowed a car into the boy's elementary school -- apparently en route to a driving class -- put her anguish in writing Tuesday, telling the woman she hopes the tragedy haunts her.

"You are 84 years old and yesterday you killed my son," 8-year-old Ryan, Amanda Wesling told Grace Keim in a note read by a family friend during a news conference. "I don't know if you're even sound enough to understand what you've done but I have no sympathy for you or any of your family.

"And I pray EVERY day that you remain on this planet you see my son when you close your eyes," Wesling wrote, closing that she hoped an Illinois law someday would bar seniors from driving once they reach a certain age.

Ryan died at a Belleville hospital Monday about an hour after being hit by Keim's 1992 blue Chevrolet Cavalier that traveled up a dead-end drive near Shiloh Elementary and never stopped, driving through the school cafeteria.

Two other students injured in the lunchtime crash were treated at a hospital. Keim also was hospitalized but had been released by Tuesday, Police Chief Jim Stover said.

On Tuesday, Stover refused to discuss the investigation, including whether Keim had any physical or mental condition perhaps explaining why she drove up what schools Superintendent Jennifer Filyaw called "a very isolated road" with no outlet and slammed her car into the school.

Stover acknowledged that Keim apparently was headed to this village's senior citizen's center for a driving class.

In Illinois, once drivers reach 81 their license must be renewed every two years; after age 86, renewals are required every year. With each renewal, road tests are required. Keim's license was up for renewal March 3, her 85th birthday, according to the Illinois secretary of state's office.

Keim's driving record shows no citations, state records show.

Ryan Wesling

Stover said investigators interviewed Keim, but he refused to offer any details until Shiloh and Illinois state police complete the investigation and present the results to St. Clair County's prosecutor, which he said could take a couple weeks. As of Tuesday, Keim had not been charged.

"I can't comment on the investigation as it stands right now," he said.

Messages left Tuesday at Keim's Belleville home were not immediately returned.

Students who returned to classes Tuesday at the school for pre-kindergartners through the fourth grade were given access to a cadre of grief counselors, including social workers and psychologists, Filyaw said.

Parents were given the option of keeping their children home for the day; 33 students were absent Tuesday, 15 more than usual, Filyaw said.

Ryan's classmates spent part of Tuesday doing "special activities," including making condolence cards for his family and jotting their thoughts down in journals as they worked to cope with the loss of his endlessly "bubbly personality," Filyaw said.

"He was just a very well-liked child," she said.

Choking back tears, Wesling family friend Harold Cradic said Ryan was passionate about being "daddy's little fishing buddy" or playing video games on his PlayStation or with his Hot Wheels mini cars.

"He was a beautiful, perfect little angel who lit up any room with his presence," Cradic said.

"This community as a whole is heartbroken over this loss," Stover added.

Ryan's funeral arrangements were pending.

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Associated Press Writer Christopher Wills in Springfield contributed to this report.

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On the Net:

Shiloh School District: http://www.shiloh.stclair.k12.il.us

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)