Probe into fatal crash ongoing

A husband and wife remained hospitalized Monday from a Barrington Hills car crash that killed another married couple.

Timothy Swanson, 22, of Crystal Lake was listed in fair condition Monday at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. His 37-year-old wife, Erika, was in good condition at St. Alexius Hospital in Hoffman Estates.

Meanwhile, a community is rallying around the four surviving children of the Palatine couple killed in the Saturday crash, Guillermo Aguirre, 48, and his wife, Rafaela, 44.

The Aguirres were involved in the head-on crash on Route 62 just west of Old Sutton Road as they drove home from a get-together at the Maranatha Hispanic Seventh Day Adventist Church in Elgin.

Guillermo was one of the first church elders, said Pastor Hector Leger, adding that a fund has been set up for the Aguirre children, ages 13 to 23.

"He was a lovely person who laughed a lot and she'd always give you advice if you needed something," said Leger.

The Aguirres, Mexican immigrants who came to the U.S. about eight years ago, worked for several years as cooks at a Pizza Hut restaurant in Lake Zurich.

"Guillermo's English wasn't very good, so he would act things out in charades or he'd dig out his English dictionary to look up words," manager Kim Nowicki said. "He was very animated when he told the story and always talked about his kids."

At Go Roma restaurant in Deer Park, where Guillermo also worked, employees were preparing to deliver food to the Aguirre home. Store manager Dennis Hickman said all the restaurant locations were taking up a collection.

No charges have been filed in the crash, said Barrington Hills Police Sgt. Ron Reidel. Investigators are following up with witnesses and need to take a statement from Timothy Swanson, who they said was driving the Honda Civic that struck the Aguirres' car.

Authorities are looking into whether Swanson crossed into oncoming traffic, Reidel said.

Visitation for the Aguirres will be held today from 4 to 8 p.m. at O'Connor-Leetz Funeral Home, 364 Division St., Elgin. Funeral services will take place at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Maranatha Hispanic Seventh Day Adventist Church, 677 Luda St., Elgin. Interment will follow at Randhill Park Cemetery, 1700 W. Rand Road, Arlington Heights.

Those wishing to help the Aguirre family can send donations to their 23-year-old daughter, Vania, c/o U.S. Bank, 1586 N. Rand Road, Palatine, IL 60074.