Four Buffalo Grove HS teens killed Tuesday in multi-vehicle pileup: ‘They were sweet guys. They loved everyone’
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A three-car crash killed four Buffalo Grove High School students in Wheeling on Tuesday night, a cataclysm that sounded to neighbors like an explosion that plunged the neighborhood into darkness when a light pole fell on electric lines.
By Wednesday afternoon, the damage was cleared, replaced by white candles and bouquets of flowers as grieving friends, neighbors and Buffalo Grove High School students paid respects at the scene, reckoning with the devastating loss just before graduation.
Those killed were Richard De-Ita, 18, Kevin Hernandez-Teran, 17, and Jesus Rodriguez, 16, from Wheeling, and Ricky Barcenas, 17, of Arlington Heights, authorities said.
“They were sweet guys. They loved everyone,” said Ellie Estrada, 17, who went to middle school with Jesus and Kevin.
Estrada left a bouquet of red, yellow and white flowers at the growing memorial at the crash scene, among many who remembered the teens at the crash site throughout the day. Several teachers also came to the site to make students aware of counseling services available at Buffalo Grove and Wheeling high schools.
“I didn’t believe it at first,” Estrada said of learning about the crash. “It was like a nightmare.”
The teens were occupants of the primary vehicle in the three-car accident that occurred at about 10:19 p.m. Tuesday at Dundee and Schoenbeck roads, according to the Wheeling Police Department.
In a statement, police said “speed and a disregarded traffic signal” appeared to be the primary factors in causing the crash.
Fire departments from Northbrook, Prospect Heights, Buffalo Grove, Long Grove,and Arlington Heights responded to the crash, officials said, extracting six of the seven people involved. All were rushed to area hospitals.
The teenagers were described by friends as funny, energetic and innocent. Hernandez-Teran wanted to become a fashion designer, according to a GoFundMe account to raise money for his funeral services. Barcenas was a varsity soccer player at Buffalo Grove High School.
Barcenas’ mother wrote that her son “meant so much to me and everyone else in his life” in a GoFundMe to cover his funeral expenses in lieu of flowers. “Ricky was a wonderful son who helped everyone and was a very hard worker. I couldn’t have asked for a better child.”
Cousins of Barcenas left a heart-shaped balloon at the crash scene Wednesday.
“He had a life ahead of him,” Jose Garcia, 21, said. “We’re all grieving right now.”
Stephanie Nava, 17, a Buffalo Grove High School junior, came with friends to display photos of Barcenas on a poster at the scene. They showed him playing soccer and attending prom just last week.
“He was really nice to a lot of people, he had a big heart, he cared a lot about his family and his future,” Nava said.
Rodriguez was described as “a loving brother and son,” who “worked hard” to help his parents, according to a GoFundMe set up for his services.
Mithzy Ramirez brought a poster of photos honoring her cousin, Richard De-Ita. The teen smiled widely in an array of pictures, many featuring him in suits and ties. Hanging from the poster was a rosary; she said he used to carry one with him at all times, and attended church every Sunday.
She said De-Ita was scheduled to graduate next week and the family was planning a big party to celebrate.
“Now he won’t get to,” she said, tears welling in her eyes.
Though De-Ita was younger, “he was the one checking up on everyone else,” she said.
“His parents are not doing OK at all,” she said. “They haven’t slept at all since last night.”
Sohair Ibrahim, a 77-year-old woman who lives near the crash site, said she was frightened Tuesday when she heard a loud noise. The power in her home then suddenly went out.
“It sounded like an explosion,” said her husband, 78-year-old Mac Ibrahim.
“We were scared,” Sohair Ibrahim added. “We didn’t know what happened.”
They called the utility company and were told a car accident caused the power outage; early Wednesday, they learned four people had died in the crash.
When another neighborhood resident, Mariola Jaworska, heard the sirens, her thoughts went to her own teenage son.
She immediately panicked, she said, and feared something might have happened to her 17-year-old son, who drives along that route home from work.
“This is something really bad,” she had thought to herself, as the sirens continued to blare for about 40 minutes.
Although she didn’t know any of the victims, she said “any parent with a child with a driver’s license can relate to this.”
“I gave my son an extra hug this morning and said ‘please drive safe,’ ” she said, standing a few feet from a light pole that lay horizontal in the grass near the memorial.
At the site, she left a memorial candle encased in glass decorated with a cross.
