Car Crash in Wilmette

[Kyyle23]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-crash30.html

 

The four teens cruised through the quiet, early-morning hours Thursday, sharing a night out on Christmas break to celebrate a buddy's birthday.

 

But the road was slick. So slick that when 16-year-old Christopher Sampsell tried to change lanes, the 2001 Sebring convertible skidded out of control and smashed through a bank of trees.

 

"I tried to turn the wheel to the right to stop the car from skidding,'' Christopher said from his hospital bed Thursday afternoon. "But then the car started going out of control. The next thing that happened was the car jumped the curb and hit the light pole and rolled. That's when I blacked out.''

 

Christopher's front-seat passenger, 16-year-old Patrick Schilling, shook him awake and called 911. But the two teenagers in the back seat -- 16-year-old Robert Oakes and 17-year Dan Noble -- had suffered massive injuries and died.

 

Emergency workers -- who said the wreck was among the worst they'd seen -- had to cut through 12 trees and bushes to get at the Sebring, which had been crushed by the light pole.

 

"When I woke up and saw what had happened,'' Christopher said, "I kind of got angry.''

 

***

 

The four teens, all high school juniors, were connected by neighborhoods and the Catholic schools they attended. They had gathered Wednesday to celebrate Dan's 17th birthday.

 

Christopher said he got to know Robert and Patrick at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, where he attended high school until this year, when he transferred to Taft High School.

 

He had just met Dan on Wednesday. Dan attended St. Patrick's High School in Chicago, and both the Noble and Oakes families are members of Queen of All Saints parish on the Northwest Side. The Nobles attended Christmas mass there, and funeral arrangements for both teens were pending, a parish spokeswoman said.

 

"The tragic thing about accidents is they are so sudden and so final,'' said the Rev. George Koeune, an associate pastor. "We are keeping them in our prayers.''

 

It is not clear exactly where the boys went Wednesday. But a member of the Oakes family said Robert had been given permission to sleep at a friend's house that night, and friends of Dan said he also had talked of plans for a sleepover. Lincolnwood Police Chief Daniel Gooris said he did not believe that Christopher, who was driving his father's car, had been given permission to drive and that he didn't know what the boys were doing in the 6900 block of Cicero at 3:30 a.m. when the car skidded off the road.

 

Gooris said Christopher, who was northbound on Cicero in a 40 mph zone, lost control while trying to switch lanes and that the teen told police he "might have been going too fast and lost control.''

 

The car hit the curb and was airborne for a few seconds before hitting the light pole, which crashed into the back seat. The car then crashed into a tree. The car's top was closed, but Gooris said the soft top offered little protection against the falling light pole. Police could not say if everyone was wearing a seat belt.

 

Gooris said the accident remained under investigation, adding there were no immediate signs that alcohol or drugs were involved.

 

Christopher has been licensed to drive since May and had no record of tickets or citations, a spokeswoman for the Illinois secretary of state's office said.

 

***

 

Denise Gordon, Robert's aunt, said her sister-in-law rarely if ever allowed her son to stay out overnight at friends' houses.

 

"She knew where he was at every minute,'' Gordon said. "All she knew is he was sleeping over at somebody's house.''

 

Robert, who lived in the 5700 block of North Kingsdale, was a "wonderful boy,'' she said. "Always a good boy. Never in trouble. Never."

 

She said Robert's parents were struggling to cope. "Pretty much, they're devastated."

 

Robert was the youngest of four boys. He had 23-year-old twin brothers and a 26-year-old brother. Like his brothers, he went to Loyola Academy. He planned to attend the University of Colorado.

 

Robert loved golf and was a Bears fan, Gordon said. While he didn't play sports, he loved fishing with his uncle Jim in Door County, Gordon said.

 

Dan, who lived in the 4800 block of West Balmoral, also loved the outdoors, including camping, hunting and hiking, his classmate at St. Patrick's, James Ridgeway, 17, said. He also joked about the fact that his family was from Tennessee, calling himself a "redneck.''

 

Dan often hung out at Ridgeway's house to play foosball or darts, or went to another friend's house for table tennis. He was a competitive swimmer and was a member of both the water polo and the swim teams at school.

 

Dan missed swim practice Wednesday because it was his birthday, friends and coaches said. He told coaches and friends he was going skiing and then planned to go to a sleepover.

 

At a Thursday morning practice, swim coaches brought the entire swim team together to break the news.

 

"Everyone is still in shock,'' said friend Joe Przekota, 17. "He was only gone for a day, and now he's not here anymore.''

 

The team dedicated the rest of its season to Dan, and school president Konrad Diebold called Noble a "terrific kid with a smile that never stopped.''

 

Assistant varsity coach John Przekota remembered Dan's huge sense of humor, including the time last year he shaved his entire body, and then painted on a pair of false eyebrows that looked angry and intimidating.

 

"He took the edge off,'' Przekota recalled. "It cracked up the team.''

 

Dan's neighbor, 80-year-old Lorraine Aloia, also recalled his kindnesses -- shoveling her walk without being asked and coming over to help her around the house.

 

"He did stuff like a son would do,'' she said. "You didn't have to ask him to do anything. He'd just do it. You don't find kids like that these days.''

 

***

 

Patrick and Christopher remained in good condition at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, a spokeswoman said. Christopher said he fractured his ribs and also suffered injury to his spine and lungs.

 

He was very lucky, he said. And Patrick, he added, "was doing real good.''

 

When asked about Robert and Dan, Christopher got quiet.

 

"I just really don't want to talk about that right now.''

 

TEENS ON THE ROAD

 

Through Dec. 23, 1,338 people were killed in vehicle accidents in Illinois in 2005, according to preliminary state figures. Thirty-three of them were 16 years old: 17 were drivers, 15 were passengers, and one was a pedestrian.

 

 

In all, 152 people ages 15 through 19 were killed on Illinois roads through Dec. 23.

 

 

In 2004, 72 drivers ages 15 through 19 were killed in Illinois -- and 54 of them were male.

 

 

Sixty-three passengers 15 through 19 were killed last year in Illinois -- and 36 were male.

 

 

Nationally, young male drivers are more than twice as likely to be involved in fatal crashes than young females, federal statistics show. Alcohol-related fatal crashes also are more likely among young males.

 

 

Motor vehicle crashes are the top cause of death for 15- through 20-year-olds.

 

 

Traditionally, very old and very young drivers have the worst accident rates, and 16-year-olds have the highest involvement in fatal crashes among all teen drivers, who get progressively safer as they age.

 

Sources: Illinois Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[The Critic]

Terribly sad.

Prayers go out to the families.

[NorthSideSox72]

--Accident occurred in Lincolnwood, not Wilmette

--I can't even imagine how fast they must have been going to have the car do that kind of damage

--Whenever I see articles about accidents with teens like this, I always cringe at the way I drove as a 16-year old. I was a lucky SOB.

--I hope these kids' friends learn something from it

--I offer my condolences to the parents and surviving kids

[Iwritecode]

--Accident occurred in Lincolnwood, not Wilmette

--I can't even imagine how fast they must have been going to have the car do that kind of damage

--Whenever I see articles about accidents with teens like this, I always cringe at the way I drove as a 16-year old.  I was a lucky SOB.

--I hope these kids' friends learn something from it

--I offer my condolences to the parents and surviving kids

 

When I was 16 I was allowed to drive a 1978 camaro. The rear-wheel drive kinda sucked in the winter and the V8 engine sucked down a lot of gas (even though gas was under a dollar a gallon at the time) but man could that thing take a beating.

 

I hit more things in that car (a telephone pole, buildings, bushes, mailboxes, street signs, other cars) and it never made a dent...