'He was always just so happy': Public mourning continues for Buffalo Grove High students killed in crash
Public mourning for four Buffalo Grove High School students killed in a car crash this week continued Thursday as a large crowd gathered at a roadside memorial in Wheeling.
Dozens of people, most of them teens, assembled near the northeast corner of Dundee and Schoenbeck roads for the second straight day to remember 18-year-old Richard De Ita, 17-year-old Kevin R. Hernandez-Teran, 16-year-old Jesus Rodriguez and 17-year-old Ricky Barcenas.
Barcenas lived in Arlington Heights; the other three were from Wheeling.
The memorial of flowers, balloons, homemade posters, candles and crosses along a brown fence grew considerably from the day before, with more than 100 items left to honor the teens.
Although some chatted, many visitors paid their respects silently, greeting each other with polite nods. Some hugged each other. Many cried.
Buffalo Grove High senior Jordan Marks knew De Ita. He was excited to graduate next week, she said.
"He was always just so happy," recalled Marks, of Buffalo Grove.
Friends Marco Franco and Angie Martinez went to honor Rodriguez. The trio spent a lot of time together last summer.
"He loved everybody," said Franco, a Buffalo Grove High junior from Wheeling.
"He was a joyful, wonderful person," added Martinez, of Glenview.
Staffers from Buffalo Grove High joined the mourners. They were there to support the students and make sure they were safe, one said.
The crowd at the memorial grew so large Thursday that Wheeling police officers temporarily used traffic cones and patrol vehicles to block off the northernmost lane of Dundee Road. That prevented passing cars from striking any mourners stepping into the street.
The four friends were fatally injured about 10:20 p.m. Tuesday, just down the road from their school.
All were in a black Ford Explorer that De Ita was driving, police said.
The Explorer was heading east on Dundee Road when it went through a red light and struck a silver Genesis, a blue Ford Edge and a light pole.
A fifth teen in the Explorer was injured and remained in intensive care at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Police Chief Jamie Dunne said Thursday.
The 62-year-old man driving the Genesis was discharged from Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, Dunne said. The 25-year-old man driving the Edge was admitted to Lutheran General.
De Ita, Hernandez-Teran and Rodriguez suffered multiple injuries and were pronounced dead at NorthShore Glenbrook Hospital in Glenview about an hour after the crash, the Cook County medical examiner's office said.
Barcenas was pronounced dead early Wednesday at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, the Lake County coroner's office said.
Dunne, a Buffalo Grove High alum, said he stopped by the memorial Wednesday to speak with some of the teens there.
"Seeing those kids mourn their classmates is just devastating," he said.
The school was closed Wednesday and again Thursday because of a small fire on Tuesday, but counselors were available there for students, Northwest Suburban High School District 214 officials said. Classes are scheduled to resume Friday.
Online fundraisers have been established to cover funeral expenses for Barcenas, Rodriguez, Hernandez-Teran and De Ita.
The crash remained under investigation.