Four students at Buffalo Grove High School were killed and three other people were injured in a high-speed crash in Wheeling on Tuesday night.
The accident involved three cars and happened around 10:20 p.m. at Dundee and Schoenbeck roads, police said.
The four teens killed were traveling in an SUV, police said. They were identified as Richard De-Ita, 18, Kevin R. Hernandez-Teran, 17, Ricky Barcenas, 17, and Jesus Rodriguez, 16, according to the Cook County medical examiner and the Lake County coroner.
Barcenas was from Arlington Heights, the other three from Wheeling.
Three other people, one also a Buffalo Grove High School student, were taken to hospitals, police said. Their conditions were not available.
Wheeling police said a sport utility vehicle heading east on Dundee Road drove through a red light and struck a car that was turning onto Dundee. It then hit another SUV on Dundee.
“Speed and a disregarded traffic signal seem to be the primary factors involved at this time,” the police said in a written statement.
A small group of mourners laid flowers and candles against a fence near the intersection later Wednesday morning, the Daily Herald reported.
Buffalo Grove High student Christian Ramirez said he was friends with one of the teens, having met last year in a geometry and construction class.
“During classes, we would joke around and play around,” Ramirez said. “He would help me a lot with girls.”
Another student, Jeffrey Riesterer, said he also knew one of the victims. “He was a good kid, a great kid,” Riesterer said. “He was a really nice person to talk to.”
Friends and family paid tribute to the deceased students online in Facebook posts and on GoFundMe pages. Facebook posts expressed the pain Barcenas’ loved ones felt over his death and said they would miss him.
On the GoFundMe page raising money for Rodriguez’s funeral, he was remembered as “a loving brother and son” who “will be missed.” A fundraising page for Hernandez-Teran recalled, “He loved his family and always put them first.”
The high school was closed Wednesday because of a small overnight fire, but the district said counselors and other resources would be available when it reopens.
