Wheaton woman dies in crash

Joanne Shain was headed out just before 10 p.m. Monday to pick up her daughter from a party.

It was a quick trip -- right across town.

When the Wheaton woman failed to arrive, though, her daughter phoned home to ask what happened.

That's when Michael Shain got in his own car and followed the route through south Wheaton he knew his wife had taken.

As he turned onto Elm Street and saw the flashing lights, his fears materialized. He said he knew the two-vehicle accident involved his wife.

Wheaton police said they aren't sure what caused the crash that killed Joanne Shain, 51, or even what directions the two vehicles involved were heading.

But Michael Shain said his wife would have been driving west -- along the same route he took.

Authorities haven't found witnesses. There also were no passengers, and Shain and Jeremy Miele, 22, also of Wheaton, appear to have been the only people involved, Wheaton Deputy Police Chief Thomas E. Meloni said.

The accident happened at the intersection of Elm and Main streets, where there's a four-way stop sign, in a residential neighborhood just south of the city's downtown.

Fire department crews worked for 15 to 20 minutes to cut Miele from his 2000 Chevrolet van and about 30 minutes to remove Shain from her 2004 Mitsibushi Eclipse, Wheaton Fire Chief Greg Berk said.

Shain was airlifted to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove where she was pronounced dead. Miele was admitted to Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield and released Tuesday, officials said.

Police said Tuesday their investigation was continuing, and they would be submitting subpoenas for the drivers' medical records related to the accident.

Miele could not be reached for comment.

Michael Shain said his wife was a very social person, and someone who loved being physically fit. In addition to running every morning, she took their chocolate Labrador retriever out for a stroll often.

"She loved walking the dog," he said.

For the past few years, she'd worked as a teacher's aide at Chesterbrook Academy in Lisle.

Visitation for Shain is set for 3 to 9 p.m. Friday at Williams-Kampp Funeral Home, 430 E. Roosevelt Road, Wheaton. Services and interment private.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Krista Kosiek Educational Foundation c/o Williams-Kampp Funeral Home, 430 E. Roosevelt Road, Wheaton, IL 60187.