A memorial complete with flowers and stuffed animals continued to grow outside of South Elgin High School on Friday evening, one day after two students were killed in a collision with a dump truck while heading to school.
Five people were riding in a Honda Civic early Thursday when the vehicle collided with a Mack semi-tractor trailer at the intersection of Illinois Route 25 and Kenyon Road. Kamorra Campbell, 17, of Bartlett, a passenger in the car, was rushed to the hospital and later pronounced dead from her injuries, authorities said.
Another passenger, Tahlulay Henry, 16, of Elgin, died at the scene, according to the Kane County Coroner's Office.
George Bozilovic, who lives nearby, told NBC Chicago has his daughter knew one of the teenagers who lost her life.
"It's just scary, you know," he said. "When your kids start driving, you worry about them every time they turn the key and leave...whether they’re driving or somebody else is driving."
Bozilovic put up a cross at the crash site in memory of both teens.
"It doesn’t take much to do a kind deed, so the world would be a better place if everybody did," he said.
Local
The Bartlett Police Department on Friday released new information about what happened in the moments leading up into the crash. The Honda Civic was heading northbound on Route 25 when it failed to yield and turned left onto Kenyon Road while at a green light, police said. A dump truck heading southbound on Route 25 then struck the car, police stated.
School District U-46, which includes South Elgin High School, said one of the students who was injured, Elizabeth Esparza, was hospitalized in stable condition, officials said. The district didn't identify a fourth student who suffered non-life threatening injuries in the collision.
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Bozilovic, meanwhile, expressed his condolences and said his prayers were with the teens' families.
"Life is precious, and it can be gone in two seconds," he said. "You know, blink of an eye."
NBC Chicago talked to Kamorra Campbell's sister, who described the teenager as a sweet person who was both competitive and soft-spoken. She had just entered her senior year and wanted to attend the University of Illinois.
