Chicago area teens killed in DUI expressway crash remembered as great friends
CHICAGO (CBS) – The lone survivor of a weekend crash that killed two teens from the northwest suburbs told CBS 2 that the tragedy was preventable.
A 21-year-old woman was charged with drunk driving and causing the crash on the Eisenhower Expressway.
Noah Browder still had on a hospital bracelet after he survived the crash that killed his best friend Erik Cox, and his friend, Shaelyn Sherwood. Browder described Cox like a brother and said the two would hang out every day.
"It's terrible," Browder said. "I mean, it's something that's not gonna leave my mind for a long time."
A memorial was growing this week for the two victims with balloons, flowers, and photos, including one from prom just a few weeks ago.
"They were the kind of people that you just wanted to be friends with," said Lacey Puleo, Cox's girlfriend. "Like they were just both so cool, and this just shows so many people care about them and loved them and miss them."
Puleo dated Cox for two years.
"Erik was my whole entire world," she said. "And it's just insane that the world is still spinning with him gone."
Now, Browder and Puleo are leaning on each other. They said Browder, Cox, and Sherwood were on their way home after a Saturday night in the city when they pulled over to fix a flat tire on the Eisenhower.
"Shae, she was the one changing the tires," Puleo said. "She was being the man. They didn't know how to do it, so she had to step in, and they were dancing and stuff. They had a really good night that night. They had a lot of fun, the three of them."
But police said Ashanti Gates crashed into the teens. She is suspected of driving under the influence. The crash left the teens with grief, anger, and memories of their friends.
"I'm really grateful that Shae was there with him to hold his hand and take him to heaven with her," Puleo said. "She was a really good friend to him. He was supposed to live. He was supposed to do everything he wanted to do. He deserved that."
Gates was charged with felony aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol and reckless homicide, as well as child endangerment because police said there was a 4-year-old in her car.
