Funeral services set for 6-year-old

Six-year-old Diana Ramirez was an outgoing, intelligent girl who took an interest in school and was close with the large family she lived with in a Woodstock apartment.

Diana died in a three-vehicle crash on Dec. 21 near Huntley, leaving her family in mourning at a time when most families are celebrating.

She was killed when her father lost control of the family's minivan on a slippery patch of Route 47 and was hit by a truck, according to a relative.

The family was headed home from the store, said Laura Morales, a cousin.

"Diana was really happy on the way home. She had just gotten new shoes," Morales said.

Diana attended school at Dean Street Elementary School in Woodstock. She liked playing with dolls and was attached to her parents and uncle.

"People that she knew, she would always hug them," Morales said. "She would always tell her mom that she was her princess."

Diana's funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, 206 E. Front St., Harvard. She will be buried in Mexico. Memorials can be made to St. Joseph's.

Diana's one-year-old sister, Sandra Ramirez Morales, is still in the hospital in critical condition but is getting better, Morales said.

The girl's mother has been at her side for the past week.

"She's been really strong," Laura Morales said. "She says she still has two kids to look after, especially the one-year-old."

Five other family members hospitalized after the crash have since been released, Morales said.

No one has been charged, and no citations have been issued. The McHenry County Sheriff's Department is continuing its investigation.