Doctor who worked on West Side dies after Naperville crash

(NAPERVILLE) A respected physician from Aurora who worked on Chicago’s West Side died Monday, three days after he was hurt in a traffic crash in west suburban Naperville.

Nikhil J. Siony was an internal medicine physician on the staff of the Lawndale Christian Health Center, the Naperville Sun is reporting.

The crash happened about 8:25 a.m. Friday near the intersection of 75th Street and Book Road, according to Naperville police.

A Mazda turning left from westbound 75th to southbound Book Road collided with a Toyota that had been heading west on 75th Street, a statement from police said.

Siony, 45, of Aurora, was trapped in his vehicle and firefighters had to cut him out, police said. He was airlifted to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, where he died early Monday, police said.

Rachel Nowakowski, 30, who was driving the Mazda, was treated at Edward Hospital in Naperville for minor injuries, police said.

Nowakowski, of Villa Park, was cited for failure to yield turning left, having an expired driver’s license and failing to provide proof of insurance, police said.

Parts of both streets were closed for about six hours for investigation.

Lawndale Christian Health Center “has its roots in the efforts of a group of community residents, largely from Lawndale Community Church,” according to the center’s website. Those residents in 1984 “spearheaded an effort to address the lack of affordable, quality health care services in their community.”

Amanda Bratschie, the center’s marketing and communications manager, said Siony had worked there since 2005 as an internal medicine physician, and had between 500 and 600 patients.

“He was amazing,” Bratschie said Monday by telephone before reading from a brief statement that had been sent to Siony’s colleagues and patients.

Siony was “a caring and skilled clinician,” Bratschie said. His colleagues and patients “knew him to be a faithful servant, with a great sense of humor and a strong desire to live out the gospel of Christ in his daily work.”

Witnesses to the crash, or those who believe they have information about it, were asked to call the Naperville Police Department’s Traffic Unit, at 630-305-5379; or to email police Cmdr. Ken Parcel, at parcelk@naperville.il.us.