Crime & Safety

Online Fundraiser Held To Pay Funeral Costs for Couple Killed in Crash

Bridgeview police say 21-year-old man was behind wheel of Camaro when it crashed into pickup truck, killing the parents of a 13-year-old boy.

Hector Gonzalez, 48, of Chicago, was behind the wheel of a 2001 Dodge Dakota pickup truck when he was struck head on by a 2010 Camaro in the 8200 block of Harlem Avenue, Bridgeview police said.

Gonzalez and his wife, Maria, 52, were both killed and pronounced dead at the scene by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. Their 13-year-old son was badly injured and is recuperating at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

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The family was on their way to a Fourth of July barbecue late Friday afternoon and driving northbound on Harlem Avenue when the couple's pickup truck was struck, police said. 

Chairs flew out of the couple's truck and were tossed in the grass in front of a car dealership at the moment of impact.

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Aiman Salem, 21, of Worth, the driver of the Camaro, and a passenger, Alaa Mustafa Alkhatib, 24, of Palos Hills, also sustained fatal injuries in the crash. They, too, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Witnesses told Patch on Friday that the Camaro was traveling northbound at a high rate of speed and appeared to be drag racing with another car on Harlem Avenue before losing control and careening into the southbound lane where it hit the truck.

Bridgeview police have not confirmed if another driver was involved in a street race with the Camaro. An investigation remains ongoing.

Nearby neighbors described hearing a screech and a loud boom, sending numerous residents running to the scene. Several helped cut the Gonzalez’s son out of his seatbelt and tried to keep him calm before help arrived, NBC Chicago reported.

On Sunday, a memorial had been set up for the four crash victims steps away from the accident where oil stains, skid marks and blood were still visible on the pavement. Flowers, balloons and holy candles covered four red hearts with each of the victims’ names.

A family friend who has set up an online fundraiser at DedicatingDollars to help raise funds for the couple’s funeral costs, described the couple as “two very special people that were senselessly taken.” Hector Gonzalez drove a catering truck for a living, NBC Chicago said.

Alkhatib and Salem both had arrest records for misdemeanor offenses, including possession of marijuana and battery, the SouthtownStar reported.

Salem, the driver, was currently serving a year’s court supervision after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor marijuana charged in December 2013, the paper said.

The crash remains under investigation by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Officer and S.M.A.R.T., a multi-agency suburban police task force specializing in accident reconstruction.


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