Tragic Case of Mistaken Identity

Minivan rams SUV in Humboldt Park; 8 hurt

August 1, 2009 12:35 PM 56 Comments

Eight people were hurt this morning when a minivan intentionally rammed into a sport-utility vehicle, causing it to flip over and hit a pole early in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood.

Two of the victims were reported in critical condition, said Chicago Police Officer JoAnn Taylor, a police spokeswoman. Five victims were reported in "stable" condition and an eighth
was reported in good, Taylor said.

The victims, all of whom were believed to be riding in the SUV, were taken to Northwestern Memorial, Stroger or Mt. Sinai Hospitals following the crash in the 3500 block of West Augusta Boulevard. Their ages range from 19 to in their 20s.

The crash happened about 4:30 a.m., shortly after witnesses saw the Voyager minivan and the Lincoln Navigator SUV traveling side-by-side while westbound on Augusta, according to Taylor.

That's when "the driver of the [minivan] began intentionally ramming the SUV, causing it to lose control and flip over," Taylor said. The SUV then hit a pole, she said.

--Jeremy Gorner, Denise Turner and Deanese Williams-Har http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/08/8-seriously-hurt-in-humboldt-park-crash.htmlris

To just anyone this is just another unfortunate gang related story that happened in the city of Chicago. Many would read and look past it, or see it on the web and add their own opinions. That’s what I would have done, if these weren’t my friends.

The article tells you about how a man rammed his minivan into the back of a SUV and caused it to flip over. This was the first article written about the incident, so there wasn’t too much information at the time. It tells you where the victims were and somewhat how their conditions were.

I found out around 7am on August 1^st. I couldn’t believe it, how could this happen? To people I see every day or whenever everyone gets together. Of course, there were rumors about how bad each of one of my friends were, but there was just so much uncertainty. When everyone around home found out, we all made our way to the most injured victims.

Joe was at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in downtown Chicago. He was an absolute mess. He was the driver, and completely sober at the time of the accident. The force of the airbag pressed him against the seat and made it impossible to duck down as the car rolled. He suffered more brain damage each time it flipped. He was in a coma for a couple weeks, and then transferred to a rehabilitation center for treatment. Joe is okay now. He is living under his parents care because he is still suffering brain injuries.

Stephanie was in the back on the Lincoln Navigator. She wasn’t wearing her seatbelt, and sober at the time, as well. My other friends that were in the car now tell me that they saw her go back and forth, from the front of the car to the back. She was in really bad shape. She was suffering a lot of brain damage, all of her internal organs were so swollen they had to cut her open. She passed away August 3^rd at Mt. Sinai Hospital, she was brain dead.

The other victims all had lots of problems. Ranging from broken vertebra/bones to others needing face reconstructive surgery. But to this day, they are all mostly fully recovered and doing well. To my surprise, a friend of mine did walk away with just a limp and scrapes, but completely okay. The car was a large SUV, looked like a volkswagon beetle in the end.

The news called it a tragic case of mistaken identity. It was all over the internet as well. It killed me to read the articles, but worst of all was the blog posts. People from all over were commenting on it. Some were nice thoughtful comments about victims, and their condolences to their family and friends. Other comments were saying that it was all gang related and these suburb kids had no right being in that part of town. It made me very angry to read these. These were all GREAT kids! None of them were in any kind of gang, or looking for any kind of violence. They were just trying to get home from a club downtown at the wrong time.

To this day, I still think about how hard of a time that was for everyone that cared about all the victims. I hope the man who did this stays in jail forever, not even the death penalty. Stephanie was going to be a surgeon; she started college at UIC the summer after high school graduation. She was the most amazing person ever, she had a heart of gold, and did everything she could for anyone. She will forever be missed.