The father from Illinois whose wife, four children, and a young family friend were murdered in a head-on highway collision has also died, making him the eighth death in the horrific weekend collision.
Thomas Dobosz, 32, was first rushed to a hospital in severe condition after his Chevrolet van collided with an Acura TSX traveling the wrong way on Interstate 90 about 2 a.m. Sunday, according to Illinois State Police.
Both automobiles “got engulfed in flames,” killing Jennifer Fernandez, 22, as well as Dobosz’s wife, four children, and a 13-year-old family friend who was accompanying them.
However, the father was also “subsequently pronounced deceased,” police added in an update Wednesday, indicating that all those involved had died.
An online campaign that had raised more than $100,000 by Thursday also relayed the news “heartbrokenly.”
Tom has received his angel wings and is now with his incredible wife Lauren and adorable children, the campaign added, urging the public to “keep this family in your prayers.”
Fernandez was alone in the Acura at the time of the collision, which is still being investigated, according to detectives. It’s unclear why the Acura TSX was going in the opposite direction.
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According to investigators, she was pronounced dead at the spot, along with all seven passengers in Dobosz’s van.
They were described by the fundraiser as his 31-year-old wife, Lauren Dobosz; their kids, Ella, 5, Nicholas, 7, Lucas, 8, and Emma, 13; and the teen’s friend, Katriona Koziara, also 13. Before the crash in rural Riley, the family from suburban Chicago had just begun heading to Minnesota for a holiday.
According to a separate Katriona fundraiser, she was in the peak of her youth and often seen with a cheerful countenance and optimistic attitude.
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