Soccer fan Vicario was working to help out his family

When Daniel Vicario wanted something, he set his mind to it and got it, according to his sister Adriana.

"He really worked hard," the 14-year-old said on Tuesday as family members mourned the death of 15-year-old Daniel.

He was the driver of a car that was involved in a crash on Cuba Road in Long Grove. Police said Vicario was flown to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge after the crash on Monday, where he later died.

Adriana said her parents had to make the heart-wrenching decision about her brother's medical condition; he suffered from brain damage after the crash.

Vicario was a freshman at Palatine High School. He had also been working part-time at a grocery store, La Rosita, down the street from his family's apartment in Palatine.

"He wanted to earn money; he wanted to help my mom," Adriana said.

According to Lilia Bueno's family, Vicario was giving her a ride to Wal-Mart to meet her brother. Bueno died at the scene of the accident.

Adriana said Vicario and Martin Solis, also a 15-year-old freshman at Palatine High School who was in the car, were long-time friends. Martin and his 13-year-old brother Luis were in stable condition Tuesday at Lutheran General, while their younger brother Yareli Mendoza-Solis, 8, was in fair condition.

Vicario was always hanging out with his friends, according to his sister.

"He was an adventurous person," she said.

Daniel Gavin, a teacher at Palatine High School, had Vicario in a first-period biology class.

Vicario's older brother, Enrique, was on Gavin's volleyball team when he was at the school, and Gavin tried to entice Vicario as well, but he was more interested in soccer.

Gavin said the first thing Vicario did every morning when he walked into the classroom was smile and shake his hand.

"He was a very friendly person," he said. "He had a great sense of humor and was well-liked by his teachers."

Although he had just started at Palatine High School, after graduating from Winston Junior High, Vicario was starting to find his place, Gavin said.

"He found a home here," he said.

Gavin said many of his classmates were helping to collect money for the family or signing a poster with a note for Vicario.

"This is the first time they might have experienced any loss," Gavin said.

He hopes that, at the very least, it's an eye-opener for other teenagers who might think they're invincible while driving.

Arrangements are pending.