'Do what Kat would do': Family and friends gather to celebrate life of teen killed on tollway
About 300 young teens, many who rode their bikes, showed up wearing bright colors Friday evening to Waverly Park in Rolling Meadows to honor and remember their friend Katriona Koziara.
It's a ride the 13-year-old Rolling Meadows girl - affectionately known as Kat - made many times herself.
Kat, a gifted athlete, break dancer, student and world traveler, was among the eight people killed in a fiery early-morning car crash on Interstate 90 in McHenry County on July 31.
Her mother, Kasia Koziara, had been planning the memorial at the neighborhood park for weeks as a way to celebrate her daughter's life and "heavenly future."
"This is the most horrific, terrible thing, and this (gathering) really helps the family," said family friend and Schaumburg schoolteacher Michelle Banks, who helped emcee the event. "It's amazing the positive influence she had on people as a 13-year-old.
"I hope that everyone here will dedicate their school year to living like Kat," she told the crowd. "Think of Kat and do what Kat would do."
Just before the crash, the mother and daughter had returned from a family trip to Scotland, where Kat was born and grew up until she moved to the United States four years ago.
Among those gathered at the park Friday night were fellow students from The Breaking Program, a break dance group that meets at the Dance & All That Jazz Studio in Prospect Heights. Kat took break dancing lessons there the past four years and was a student teacher who led the Intro to Breakdancing class for younger students.
She was at the studio for her last class of the summer just three days before the fatal crash.
Heading out on vacation to Minnesota with family friends, Kat was among seven people in a van struck by a sedan traveling in the wrong direction on Interstate 90 near Hampshire.
Those killed instantly were Kat, her 13-year-old friend Emma Dobosz, and other members of the Dobosz family from Rolling Meadows: 31-year-old mother Lauren, and children 7-year-old Lucas, 6-year-old Nicholas and 5-year-old Ella. Thomas Dobosz, the 32-year-old father, died as a result of injuries days later. The driver of the sedan, 22-year-old Jennifer Fernandez of Carpentersville, also was killed.
McHenry County Coroner Michael Rein said this week he has not yet received toxicology reports - which typically take four to six weeks - and the crash is still under investigation.
Two online fundraisers have been started in Kat's name to assist with funeral costs and support her mother and father. A GiveSendGo page, at givesendgo.com/G3M99, has raised more than $17,000. A GoFundMe page, at gofundme.com/f/paying-tribute-to-katriona, has raised nearly $3,000.
A memorial for the Dobosz family was held a day after the crash at Chicago's Oriole Park, where the family was involved in the Falcons youth travel football and cheer program.