School mourns, prays for teens killed in crash

As a makeshift memorial to two of their classmates grew on nearby Haligus Road, students at Marian Central Catholic High School prayed and mourned before the first bell rang Monday.

Several hundred gathered at the Woodstock school in a student-led prayer circle for the two students who were killed and two who were seriously injured in a Friday morning car accident.

Senior Taylor Wozniak, 17, of Lake in the Hills, and 14-year-old freshman Alexander Grys of Algonquin were killed when their car collided with an oncoming dump truck.

William Schlau, a 14-year-old freshman, and 17-year-old Eva Grys -- the car's driver and Alexander's sister -- both from Algonquin, were injured in the accident.

Eva Grys remained hospitalized in serious condition Monday at St. Anthony Medical Center in Rockford.

Information on Schlau, who was treated at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, was unavailable because he is a minor.

The four teens were on their way home after a short day of exams at Marian when the 2003 Honda drifted onto the gravel shoulder of southbound Haligus Road. When Grys turned back onto the road, the car crossed the center line into the northbound lane, where it struck the oncoming truck.

The McHenry County Sheriff's Department was still investigating the accident Monday.

In addition to the student-led prayer, Marian Central started the day with a formal schoolwide prayer and had counselors on hand for grieving students. The school will have a Mass for students Thursday to remember Wozniak and Alexander Grys.

Visitation for Wozniak will be 3 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Querhammer and Flagg Funeral Home, 500 West Terra Cotta Ave. in Crystal Lake.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, at 1023 McHenry Ave. in Crystal Lake. Call the funeral home at (815) 459-1760.

Funeral arrangements for Alexander Grys were still pending Monday.