Gurnee woman, son killed while changing flat tire in Wis.

A Gurnee woman and her son were killed in Wisconsin Thursday night while her car was disabled on I-94, police said.

Clara J. Jennings, 60, and Patrick Jennings, 23, were struck by a southbound car on the highway near Paris, Wis., Kenosha County sheriff police said Friday. Two people in the car that struck the Jenningses were hurt, too.

Clara Jennings was alone and headed south when her 1998 Honda got a flat tire, police Lt. Paul Falduto said.

A veteran employee in the payroll and accounting department at Evanston Hospital, she had been heading home from a business meeting in Milwaukee, said her brother, Norman Hansen of Lake Forest.

Jennings stopped near State Highway 142 and pulled onto the shoulder of the highway, police said.

Jennings called her son, and he drove to Wisconsin with his girlfriend to assist, police said. He arrived there about 10:40 p.m., parked about 200 feet behind his mom's car, met his mom and prepared to fix the tire, police said.

Both cars and the Jennings were fully on the shoulder, Falduto said.

That's when a 1997 Toyota Corolla veered onto the shoulder and slammed into the vehicle and the Jenningses, killing them instantly, Falduto said.

Patrick Jennings' girlfriend, whose name was not released by police, was not hurt. She had been sitting in Patrick's car and witnessed the crash, police said.

The driver of the Corolla was identified as Cara L. Michalski, 38, of West Allis, Wis. A passenger in her car was identified as Willie J. Pritchard, 36, of Milwaukee.

Michalski was flown by emergency helicopter from the scene to Froedert Memorial Lutheran Hospital near Milwaukee in critical condition, authorities said. Pritchard was taken by ambulance to St. Catherine's Hospital in Pleasant Prairie, Wis.

Both were released from the hospital Friday.

The speed limit where the accident occurred is 65 mph, police said. Michalski was driving at least that fast, Falduto said.

No tickets had been issued as of Friday as police continued investigating the accident, but charges are expected against Michalski, Falduto said.

Clara Jennings grew up in Waukegan and graduated from Waukegan High School in 1966, her brother said. She later graduated from Northern Illinois University, where she studied accounting.

"She was a very, very fun person," Hansen said. "Accountants tend to be introverted... but she was outgoing."

Jennings and her late husband, David, married in 1974 and remained together until he died of cancer this past April, Hansen said.

Patrick was their only child.

A Warren Township High School graduate, he was studying at the College of Lake County to be an X-ray technician, Hansen said. He was in his final year at the college and had spent the summer as an intern at Evanston Hospital.

Patrick Jennings liked to travel and was an avid skateboarder, his uncle said.

Funeral arrangements for Clara and Patrick Jennings are pending.

Autopsies are scheduled to be conducted today in Kenosha County, Hansen said.