Family of truck driver stunned at news
Kazimierz Karasek was a good father, grandfather and husband, say family members who are distraught over the 59-year-old truck driver's tragic death Friday morning in Mount Prospect.
Family members can't make sense of the accident, and are surprised at the report that Karasek drove around downed train gates.
“I'm not sure what happened,” Wojtek Karasek, of Schaumburg, the victim's son, said Friday afternoon. “He was a very safe driver. It sounds really outrageous.”
Wojtek Karasek said his father, who owned and operated an excavating company and was a truck driver for 20 years, worked in the area and knew local roads well.
Wojtek Karasek last spoke to his father on Sunday and learned of his death Friday from his stepmother.
Karasek is survived by his wife, three sons, three grandchildren, and a mother.
“We're all devastated for this loss,” Wojtek Karasek said.
“We're going to miss him. He was a great father of three boys. He was an immigrant from Poland. He has helped a lot of people since he's got here. He would give you the shirt off his back.
“He was one of the most genuine guys that I've ever met,” his son added. “He really was a good man.”