Families wiped out in horrific highway crash, 8 dead

Illinois State Police said the Chevrolet van he was driving collided head-on with an Acura TSX that was going the wrong way on a highway around 2 a.m. Sunday. Afterwards, he was airlifted to a hospital in critical condition.

Both vehicles were “engulfed in flames”, killing 22-year-old Acura driver Jennifer Fernandez, Dovos’ wife and four children, and a 13-year-old family friend who was with them. new york post report.

But the father was also “then subsequently pronounced dead,” police said in an update Wednesday, confirming that everyone involved has died.

An online fundraiser that had raised more than $100,000 by Thursday also shared the news “with a heavy heart.”

“Tom got his angel wings and now lives with his wonderful wife, Lauren, and their precious children.”

Fernandez was alone in the Acura at the time of the accident, and is still under investigation. It’s unclear why the Acura TSX was headed in the wrong direction.

Police said she was pronounced dead at the scene, along with all seven passengers in Dobos’ van.

The fundraiser identified them as his wife of 31 years, Lauren Dovos. Their children Ella, 5, Nicolas, 7, Lucas, 8, and Emma, ​​13. A teenage friend, Catriona Koziara, who was also 13 years old. The family had just embarked on a vacation trip to Minnesota from the Chicago suburbs.

Another Catriona fundraiser said, “She was in the height of her youth and was always seen with a smile and a positive attitude.”

This article was originally new york post Reprinted with permission

first published as Families wiped out in horrific highway crash, 8 dead