4 Buffalo Grove High School students killed in Wheeling crash
WHEELING, Ill. (CBS) -- Four teens are dead after a major crash in northwest suburban Wheeling Tuesday night.
The crash, involving at least three cars, took place at Dundee and Schoenbeck roads around 10:19 p.m.
Wheeling police confirmed four teens, between the ages of 16 and 18, died due to the impact of the crash. Three other people were injured and taken to local hospitals.
The victims who died were identified as Ricky Barcenas, 17, Richard De-Ita, 18, Kevin R. Hernandez-Teran, 17, and Jesus Rodriguez, 16. They were all in one Ford Explorer at the time.
Firefighters had to extricate four victims and a total of seven victims were taken to area hospitals. According to the Village of Buffalo Grove, the four teens were students at Buffalo Grove High School, where they played soccer together.
Another student was hospitalized.
Barcenas, 17 years old from Arlington Heights, was reportedly a back-seat passenger and taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville where he later died in the ICU. The Lake County Coroner's office said he died of "blunt force injuries as a result of the crash."
Police said the teens were in the primary car involved in the crash and that the cars were "severely damaged, with the front ends of at least three cars destroyed" and a bus stop shelter was also because of debris from the accident.
Rodriguez's sister, Angelina Gomez, was behind the SUV when it crashed. Her brother always met her after work, to make sure she left safely.
"I was behind them, and then there was a red light. Richard thought he could beat it - and I don't think he, like, I think what was going through his head was that he was trying to brake, but then he saw that the car wasn't braking, so he kept going, and then when the car was going, the other car was coming this way - so it hit the car," Gomez said. "It spin, hit the other car, and then the transmission exploded on Richard's car. And then it hit the light pole, so all the lights went out on the block."
ComEd came to the scene to restore power.
Meanwhile, Gomez ran to the SUV right after the crash. She fell, injured her arm, and then got up, trying to get her brother and his friends out of the car. She says the door of the SUV was so severely damaged, it couldn't be opened.
"I tried opening the door where they were, but couldn't - and I saw his friends. I tried talking to my brother, but I think he was unconscious or he was dead. I don't know," Gomez said. "When I kept calling for his friends' names, I just kept hearing someone trying to breathe."
Gomez says De-Ita, who was driving, was her best friend.
"They were both good kids - I mean, Richard and my brother," Gomez said. "We were all so close."
Even though Gomez's brother was younger, she said he was her protector. She said when she thinks of him, she feels nothing but love.
Gomez says her brother just got a new white Nissan a month ago. She said Rodriguez was very happy to own a new car.
"Whenever I was sad, he would always hold my hand. We would go for a drive," Gomez said. "He was proud because he was getting his license too."
Meanwhile, Brenda Lorenzo – the mother of crash victim Ricky Barcena – told CBS 2's Marissa Perlman she has "lost her sunshine."
"He was just the best," Lorenzo said. "The best thing I could have for 17 years."
Surrounded by friends and family in prayer in her Arlington Heights home, Lorenzo shared the last text she received from her son – five minutes before the deadly crash.
"He's like, 'I love you mom - I'll be there in five minutes,' I'm like, 'OK,'" said Lorenzo, "and then I called him 30 minutes after - he didn't respond."
Lorenzo went to three hospitals looking for her son.
"When I got to the hospital, he was in surgery," she said. "He didn't make it. His heart just stopped."
Now, rows of flowers in the four teens' honor lay at the crash site – in a growing memorial.
Lorenzo said the teens were "good boys" with "bright futures" – with her son being one of them.
"He was just a sunshine – like lovely, friendly, always there for everybody and for his mother, especially," Lorenzo said.
Fundraising pages have been set up for all four teens, to help with funeral expenses.
The crash is still under investigation by the Wheeling Police Department and Northwest Suburban Major Case Assistance Team's Serious Traffic Accident Reconstruction unit.
Anyone who may have seen the crash can call the Wheeling Police Department at 847-459-2632.
Buffalo Grove High School was closed Wednesday and will remain closed Thursday - because of a fire that broke out at the school on Tuesday evening.
Counselors have been made available at the school Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Students will return to class Friday.
Classmates and community members met Thursday at a memorial that continues to grow, honoring the Buffalo Grove High School students.
"We are coming together," Jeff Wardle, Buffalo Grove High School principal said. "It's an incredible community."
