Police still seeking people who fled car after accident killed 2, injured 3
Hit-and-run accidents are not unheard of. From time to time, motorists drive off after hitting a car or pedestrian.
But why would two people flee the scene of an accident when children they know had been thrown from the vehicle and were seriously, perhaps even fatally, injured?
That's apparently what happened on I-90 near Route 31 Friday night in a crash that killed a 5-year-old boy from Elgin and a woman from Mexico. Three other passengers in the car were injured, including a 6-year-old still in critical condition.
Police on Sunday were still searching for the driver of the ill-fated 2003 Ford Expedition and another passenger.
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How could they flee when five others in their car were lying on the ground so seriously hurt?
"There could be a million and one reasons," said Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Leo Richard. But police are reluctant at this point to speculate. "We may not even put our finger on the one (reason), if we started naming them. That's why we're investigating."
But he still was disturbed by the act.
"I'm always shocked when you have victims, and (some people don't) do what they can for them," Richard said.
At about 8:45 p.m., a Lincoln Town Car driven by Kevin Cooke of Carpentersville was cut off by a white van in the far left eastbound lane of I-90.
Cooke told the Daily Herald Saturday that he tried to avoid hitting other cars and swerved the Lincoln onto the shoulder of the tollway. But Cooke said the shoulder's soft dirt surface made the Lincoln slide sideways and he hit the rear of the 2003 Ford Expedition.
The Expedition, he said, swerved back and forth, then violently turned sideways and flipped, rolling over several times and sending children in the vehicle out the side window.
Two of the seven passengers in the Expedition, 5-year-old Luis Cabrales of Elgin, and 67-year-old Maria Guadarrama of Mexico, were pronounced dead at Sherman Hospital in Elgin.
Another passenger, a 6-year-old, was taken by air to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in critical condition, according to state police.
Police were unable to track down the white van that cut off the Lincoln Town Car.
A photo has been released showing the license plate of the vehicle. It is an Illinois plate bearing the number X14 5522, registered to a Chicago resident.
One Elgin firefighter, who asked not to be identified, said he has seen similar situations where people have fled from an accident.
"Everybody on this job has," he said. "It's a common occurrence."
He said it is a frustrating experience, adding there could be a multitude of reasons for fleeing: the car was stolen; they had other legal problems; they didn't have proper insurance.
When helping at the scene of an accident, though, the primary concern of firefighters is the safety of people involved and the medical issues that need to be handled.
Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Pete Howe said investigators are trying to confirm the identities of the people who left the accident scene.
A police report is currently unavailable.
State police said those who fled could face such misdemeanor charges as leaving the scene of an injury accident and child endangerment.
Cooke, the driver of the Lincoln Town Car, was unhurt. On Sunday, he said he was advised by his employer not to make further comment on the accident, but he did praise responders for arriving quickly.
"A lot of people stopped to help," he said. He particularly praised the Elgin Fire Department and Illinois State Police. "They were all there within five minutes. They were remarkably quick and thorough. They really took control of the situation."