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Child on Life-Support Dies Following Tragic Beecher Crash

A 4-year-old boy who was on life-support following a south suburban crash that killed his mother and 1-year-old brother died one day after the fatal accident. 

Weston Schmidt was pronounced dead at 5:55 p.m. Tuesday at Comer Children's Hospital in Chicago, according to the Will County Sheriff's office. His 6-year-old brother remains in critical condition at the facility, officials said. 

Twenty-nine-year-old Lindsey Schmidt and her 1-year-old son Caleb Schmidt, residents of Beecher, were also killed in the crash. 

The crash between a 2002 Chevrolet S10 pickup and a 2014 Subaru Outback happened at 8:38 a.m. Monday in unincorporated Beecher, according to the Will County sheriff’s office.

The pickup was heading east on Corning Road and failed to stop at the stop sign at Yates Avenue, and struck the Subaru on the driver’s side, causing the SUV to leave the road and go into a field, police said. The Subaru had been heading north on Yates and did not have a stop sign.

The driver of the Subaru, Schmidt, and her 1-year-old son were both pronounced dead at the scene at 10:35 a.m., police and the Will County coroner’s office said. Autopsies were scheduled for Tuesday.

Schmidt was pregnant at the time of her death, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office. She was taking her children to a nearby Bible Camp when the accident occurred.

The woman’s other two sons, ages 4 and 6, were taken in critical condition to St. Margaret Hospital in Hammond, Indiana, according to the sheriff’s office. Both children were transferred to Comer’s Children Hospital where they are currently on life-support.

The 6-year-old has been placed into a medically induced coma, police said.

The 25-year-old man driving the pickup suffered minor injuries and was taken to St. James Hospital in Chicago Heights, police said. He was transferred to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn to undergo minor reconstruction surgery where he is being treated for a large cut to his arm. His condition has stabilized.

Charges were pending against the driver of the truck Wednesday night.

“The Will County Sheriff’s Office would like to extend our heartfelt sympathy and continued prayers to the family,” according to the statement.

A donation fund has been set up at First Community Bank and Trust. Checks should be made payable to The Schmidt Family Fund and delivered to either the bank's Beecher or Peotone locations. Checks can also be mailed to PO Box 457, Beecher, IL 60401.

Copyright Chicago Sun-Times
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