Palatine couple killed in crash

For Palatine residents Guillermo and Rafaela Aguirre, Saturday night was, in many ways, typical of their lives.

The devoutly religious couple were with three of their four children at a church youth group outing at the house of a fellow parishioner at Maranatha Hispanic Seventh Day Adventist Church in Elgin, where Guillermo was an elder.

Their 23-year-old daughter Vania remembers a bonfire, guitar playing, singing and playing games.

One thing was unusual: Guillermo helping direct the games.

"Normally he doesn't stay with us," she said, "but I think he wanted to help direct the games. He was playing, and so we were very happy because they were there with us."

But it was getting late. It already was 10 p.m., but everybody wanted to stay longer, "so I told the guys that we were going to finish around 11. So it was already 10, and they wanted to stay longer."

When the Aguirres left at 11 p.m., they headed off together in two cars, Guillermo and Rafaela in one vehicle, the children in another car following them.

"We were on our way back, and I told him, 'Daddy go on ahead,' like always when we take two cars, and we'll go behind looking after you. We always do it like this. Unfortunately this happened."

What happened was outlined in cold, factual terms in a Barrington Hills Police Department news release, which did not name names -- those were released by the Cook County medical examiner's office. Guillermo, 48, and Rafaela, 44, who lived in the 1700 block of North Emerald Bay, were driving their Saturn eastbound on Route 62 near Old Sutton Road when the Saturn collided head-on with a Honda Civic driving west on Route 62. The Honda then was struck by a BMW headed west.

Both Guillermo and Rafaela were pronounced dead at the scene about 11:30 p.m., according to information provided by the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.

Police said the two occupants of the Honda, a 22-year-old male driver and a 37-year-old female passenger, both from Crystal Lake, sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The driver was transported by Flight for Life helicopter to Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, while the passenger was taken by ambulance to St. Alexius Hospital in Hoffman Estates.

The driver of the BMW, a 71-year-old male from Fox Lake, refused medical treatment at the scene, police said.

Vania said one of her sisters was driving the car she was in, following exactly behind.

"We had slowed down because we had passed a deer, and so we drove with more precaution."

Briefly, it seemed that the parents went on ahead, but it turned out that Guillermo had waited for them to catch up.

Then, two minutes later, "We saw this other car cross into the lane that my parents were on."

She said she saw her father try to evade the car, but it hit the left side of the front. She said her sister hit the brake and moved to the side. Her little sister was sleeping in the back seat.

"She woke up when I yelled (at her other sister) to brake."

When she arrived at her parents' car, she went to her dad's side, asking him, "Daddy, are you OK?" but he didn't respond.

She went to her mom's side and tried to open the door, but it wouldn't open.

She said she went to check the other car, which was in the middle of the highway.

"There was a man there that got out from underneath the vehicle and laid on the ground while the ambulance arrived. I told my sister to call 911 and she called, but they were already on their way."

She said she tried to talk to her sisters, to make them stay away from the scene. One sister was screaming, "My mom doesn't have an airbag."

Vania said someone came and started slowly moving her parents' car. She told him not to move it, but was told, "I am a police officer, and I know what I am doing."

She said, "He told me they didn't have a pulse, neither of them."

When another police officer arrived, she said, "I was asking, 'When is someone going to come to help my parents?' He said, 'They're gone. We lost them.'"

Vania said she didn't know how to tell her siblings. "I knew from the start, but I didn't want to tell them on the highway, I had to wait till we went home to be able to tell them."

The Aguirres had celebrated their 26th wedding anniversary Tuesday.

The couple arrived in the United States from Mexico seven years ago.

Both parents worked hard to support their four children, three girls and a boy, the youngest 12 years old. Both Guillermo and Rafaela worked at Pizza Hut in Lake Zurich, while Guillermo also worked at Go Roma restaurant in Deer Park.

One of his bosses at Go Roma, George Diskos, said Guillermo worked as a cook at his restaurant. "He was an excellent worker. He is going to be desperately missed.

"He was a great guy, a family man. He was going to church every week."

Ranya Ajlouni, who was the family's upstairs neighbor in the Palatine coach home, said, "They were very hardworking and were major churchgoing people.

"Saturday and Sunday mornings, they were out here early, packing up their cars, going to church.

"I just saw the mom and dad yesterday morning. I saw him packing up like he always does, coolers and drinks, because they spend all day at church."

Vania Aguirre said she is about to get her associate's degree from Harper College and planned to study business and finance at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

"For my little siblings, it's been very tough," she said, but added, "We have the security that Christ, when he comes, we'll be reunited with our parents."

The case is being investigated by Barrington Hills police in cooperation with the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.