Memorial of flowers, toy cars and more honors Wheeling teen fatally injured in crash

A large, roadside memorial has formed in Buffalo Grove near the site of a crash that left a suburban teen dead last week.

Flower bouquets, crosses, candles and toy cars are among the items that have been placed at the base of a street sign at Buffalo Grove Road and University Drive to honor 18-year-old Jeremi Klodzinski. A framed photograph of Klodzinski, a Polish flag, a cherubic statuette and empty beverage cans are there, too.

People have visited the memorial in groups and singly in the week since the Sept. 19 crash.

A former Wheeling High School student, Klodzinski was driving a motorcycle north on Buffalo Grove Road about 5:40 p.m. when he collided with a pickup truck. He was pronounced dead about half an hour later at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights.

The pickup truck driver wasn’t hurt, police said.

Buffalo Grove police are investigating the crash, with assistance from the Lake County Major Crash Assistance Team. A formal determination of the cause of Klodzinski’s death is pending a crash investigation report, a spokesperson for the Cook County medical examiner’s office said Thursday.

A visitation for Klodzinski’s family and friends is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at Evangels Church, 5700 Bartels Road, Hanover Park. A general visitation is set for 11 a.m., and a service will follow at noon.

An online fundraiser has been launched to help pay for Klodzinski’s funeral expenses and medical bills. More than $26,000 had been donated as of Thursday afternoon. Learn more about the fundraiser at tinyurl.com/4x27pb26.