advertisement

Friends set up fundraiser for family of girl, 5, killed in crash

On the big occasions, Gabrielle Horvath wore pink.

For her first day of preschool, her pink-and-orange backpack matched the ribbon in her blond hair. On her birthday, she posed in another family photo donning a pink tutu and ballet flats.

Gabrielle was killed in a three-car crash that injured her father near Gilberts in Rutland Township Friday afternoon. She was 5.

“It's just such a tragedy,” said Dan Nosal, a friend of Gabrielle's parents, Jennifer and James Horvath.

Friends have set up an online fundraiser to help the family pay for funeral and medical expenses and any costs associated with their loss, Nosal said. In a span of six hours, more than $6,000 had been raised through gofundme.com.

“We just want to do anything we can do to help,” said Nosal, who lives in West Dundee.

Gabrielle's father, James Horvath, 45, remained in stable condition Saturday at Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin.

“He's going to be OK,” Nosal said of his injuries.

Kane County sheriff's investigators are doing a full reconstruction of the crash, a “time-consuming” process, Lt. Patrick Gengler said in an email Saturday.

But an initial investigation shows that a Mercedes C320 driven by a 17-year-old from Carpentersville was traveling east on Route 72, approximately one-third of a mile east of Big Timber Road.

As the vehicle approached a curve in the road, he lost control of the Mercedes and entered the westbound lane of traffic, striking head-on a Toyota FJ Cruiser that was traveling west on Route 72. The teen was cited for driving in the wrong lane, the sheriff's office says. He has not been identified because he is a juvenile.

Gabrielle was in a car seat in the Toyota, driven by her dad.

A third vehicle, a Chevy Chrome, was traveling behind the Horvaths' SUV and struck its rear. The Chevy's driver, David Doyle, 39, of Byron, was treated and released at the scene.

5-year-old girl killed in Rt. 72 crash near Gilberts

"It's just such a tragedy," said Dan Nosal, a friend of Gabrielle Horvath's parents, who live in Hampshire. Courtesy of the Horvath family
Gabrielle Horvath, 5, was killed Friday afternoon in a crash near Gilberts. Courtesy of the Horvath family
A 5-year-old girl was killed after a multivehicle crash Friday afternoon on Route 72 near Gilberts, authorities said. Courtesy of ABC 7 Chicago
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.