Family, friends mourn crash victim as inquiry continues
Just six years after emigrating from India to America to give their sons better lives, two Hoffman Estates parents said a final goodbye to one son Monday.
Ayush Joshi, 20, of Hoffman Estates died from injuries sustained in a car crash on Thursday in Kane County.
Two brothers, Zohair, 18, and Kumail Husain, 20, also died in the crash. Funeral services for the brothers were held Monday.
The driver, Muhammad Jaffrie, 24, of Crystal Lake was in critical condition at Provena St. Joseph Hospital in Elgin late Monday.
A passenger, Henry Onwualu, 19, of Huntley, also was in critical condition at St. Anthony Medical Center in Rockford late Monday.
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Joshi's parents, Devendra and Pramila, left a comfortable life in Nainital, India, where Joshi's father Devendra, a doctor, provided a more than comfortable life for his family, Joshi's cousin Vikas Upadhyay told the Daily Herald Monday.
Pramila and Devendra gave up their lives in India, and Devendra his career, to bring Joshi and his older brother Piyush, 27, to America to provide educational opportunities for the two.
Joshi was just 14 when he came to America, and he hit the ground running.
"He was a total sponge the minute he landed here," Upadhyay said.
At Conant High School in Hoffman Estates, Joshi was an honor roll student who ran cross country and was a member of the chess and congressional debate teams.
Joshi graduated from Conant in 2005 and was getting ready to start school at Harper Community College then go on to University of Illinois-Chicago to finish his undergraduate studies. Joshi ultimately wanted to go to medical school, Upadhyay said.
"He was a bright kid and very intelligent. He certainly had the potential to do that," Upadhyay said.
"He had his whole life in front of him, and in the drop of a dime it's all gone."
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Aside from his career aspirations, Joshi had a lot of friends and was described by his cousin as a thoughtful, considerate man.
"He just had something about him, that 'it' factor … where people just kinda wanted to be around him," Upadhyay said.
Joshi loved music and had a sizable MP3 collection spanning 4,000-5,000 songs on his computer, he said.
When asked what he will miss most about Joshi, whom Upadhyay described as having a brotherly relationship with, he said, "Just his being there. He was a kid that you talk to. You tell him you're moving and he'd be over to help you … you just always want to be around him."
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The 2003 Infiniti G35 carrying the five men was traveling west on Dietrich Road, between Brier Hill Road and Route 20, just north of I-90, when it left the road and hit a tree around 3:30 a.m. Saturday in Kane County.
Blood and urine samples were taken from Jaffrie and sent to the state crime lab to determine if alcohol or drugs were in his system at the time of the crash, Kane County sheriff's Lt. Pat Gengler said.
The results of those tests were not immediately available but are part of the investigation, Gengler said.
Upadhyay and his family visited the scene of the crash and spoke to a couple who live nearby who called 911 after the crash, Upadhyay said.
"They were sleeping, but the husband was half awake when the car hit the tree. They heard that and they came out," he said.
At first the couple didn't see anything because the car was so crumpled into the tree and it was dark outside. The two were about to go back inside when they heard a cry for help, Upadhyay said.
"It was so deep into the tree and it was so dark… if (one of the men) hadn't said anything, they wouldn't have seen them," he said.
After dialing 911, the couple stayed with the victims until emergency crews arrived, he said.
Joshi, a back seat passenger of the vehicle, was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Jaffrie has been cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and for driving too fast for conditions, police said.
Kane County State's Attorney John Barsanti said felony charges against the Jaffrie are possible, but officials are waiting on blood test results.