Hoffman Estates man remembered as ‘good friend’

Friends and classmates remembered 20-year-old Austin Watts as a funny, gregarious young man who was always nice to everyone.

Watts, of Hoffman Estates, died Saturday after falling off the rooftop of a 2002 Chevrolet Impala he was riding late Thursday. He struck his head on the pavement in the Walmart parking lot at 1205 S. Rt. 31, according to a Crystal Lake police investigation.

A 2010 graduate of Hoffman Estates High School, Watts was always willing to listen, and even went the extra length when she needed comforting, said Beverly Del Rosario, of Hoffman Estates, who was Watts’ date at a school dance last year.

“We were just friends. He usually came to my house most of the time, he got to meet my family, my parents. My parents really loved him. He was a really good guy, and a good friend,” said Del Rosario, now a student at Harper College.

Del Rosario said Watts liked to go out and attend football games, and played lacrosse. “He never judged anybody, he was always honest,” she said.

Police said that Watts died while “car surfing,” a practice that involves riding on top of cars in motion. Del Rosario said she never heard of Watts, or anyone else, doing that.

Classmate Prachi Munjwani, of Schaumburg, now also a student at Harper College, said she shared a few classes with Watts.

“He was amazingly nice,” she said. “He was a wonderful person. He was a good person to just talk to and hang out with. He was a good classmate. I wish I could have gotten to know him better.”

Crystal Lake police said Stephen D. Gallagher, 19, of the 1800 block of Hemlock Place in Schaumburg was driving the vehicle from which Watts fell. He was initially charged with misdemeanor reckless driving and felony reckless conduct involving great bodily harm. Police could not be reached Monday regarding any potential new charges.