Huntley crash claims fourth victim
The phone calls have been pouring in day after day to Augustine Onwualu's home from family back in Nigeria.
Two brothers, 22 cousins and dozens of other family members have been calling to check on Onwualu's son, Henry.
The 19-year-old Huntley man spent the past week lying unconscious in a Rockford hospital after a car accident last Saturday.
On Friday, Augustine Onwualu and his family began the painful process of calling all those people back, telling them Henry died earlier in the day.
"We are mourning," Augustine Onwualu said. "It's a big shock. He went in for surgery just a day ago, and things seemed to be going OK."
Henry Onwualu is the fourth passenger claimed by the Sept. 8 car accident.
He was being treated at St. Anthony's Medical Center in Rockford, where he had been airlifted in critical condition six days earlier.
The driver, Mohammed Jaffrie of Crystal Lake, now is the lone survivor of the crash west of Huntley.
Jaffrie, Onwualu and three other friends were heading west in a 2003 Infiniti G35 on Dietrich Road, between Brier Hill Road and Route 20, when the car left the road and hit a tree. It was 3:30 in the morning.
The five young men may have been headed to a truck stop on Route 20 in Hampshire where there is an all-night restaurant.
Ayush Joshi, 20, of Hoffman Estates and Zohair Husain, 18, of Huntley both were pronounced dead at the scene. Zohair's brother, Kumail Husain, 20, of Algonquin was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where he was pronounced dead.
Jaffrie, a 24-year-old Crystal Lake man, was last reported to be in critical condition at Provena St. Joseph Hospital in Elgin. An update on his condition wasn't immediately available.
Henry Onwualu's familiy members spent much of Friday finalizing funeral plans and reminiscing about the recent Huntley High School graduate.
"It is very, very hard on us," said Nkoli Anikamadu, Henry's aunt. "He was such a young guy. He was like my son."
Henry Onwualu moved to Huntley from his native Nigeria just three years ago after receiving a visa.
A tall, athletic man who often spent his leisure time playing soccer, Onwualu had just begun classes at McHenry County College and planned on eventually transferring to Northern Illinois University to study physical therapy.
"It's a tragedy," Nkoli Anikamadu said. "We have our entire family surrounding us. This is very, very hard on us."
The Kane County sheriff's police and the Kane County Accident Reconstruction Team still are investigating the accident. The Winnebago coroner's office will perform an autopsy on Onwualu.
Jaffrie was cited on charges of failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and driving too fast for conditions.
Kane County sheriff's Cmdr. John Marzalek said investigators are waiting for the accident report, as well as lab results of blood and urine samples taken from Jaffrie to determine whether alcohol or drugs were in his system at the time of the crash.
"Once we get those results, then we'll review it with the state's attorney and determine whether there should be any additional charges." Marzalek said.
Funeral arrangements for Onwualu are pending.