Hampshire, Ill. (WLS) — Questions remain after a mother and five children from Rolling Meadows were killed in a fire Sunday on I-90 in McHenry County.
The sole survivor of the crash, Thomas Topos, 32, remains hospitalized at Loyola University Medical Center.
A neighbor told ABC7 he lost his wife and all of his children in the crash.
Just after 2 a.m. Sunday, Topos was westbound on I-90 near Hampshire in a blue Chevy van when the driver of a gray Acura, identified as 22-year-old Jennifer Fernandez of Carpentersville, was driving in the opposite direction. Topos’ vehicle collided head-on. Both cars were completely gutted by fire.
Troopers said all of Fernandez’s passengers, identified as 31-year-old Lauren Topos, and five children were found dead at the scene: two 13-year-old girls, 7- and 6-year-old boys and 5 others. – old woman.
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Neighbors in Rolling Meadows said four of them were the couple’s children.
“When you find out it’s people you’ve known for years, it hits a little hard,” said David Moreno, a neighbor of the Topos family. “It’s not easy for anyone to lose your family in an instant.”
Four children are the couple’s children, Moreno said.
“My understanding is that one of the older daughters had a friend with them,” he said. “I know it’s devastating for the community to know it’s someone that people know.”
State police are still trying to figure out why Hernandez was going the wrong way. Authorities have not yet released the identities of the five children.
This terrible accident led to another conflict.
When one semi truck stopped to allow a medical helicopter to land, the other semi didn’t stop in time and rear-ended it, officials said.
The trailer of one of them was torn apart and the boxes inside were scattered on the road.
A second accident resulted in minor injuries to one person.
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