Erik Cox and Shealyn Marie Sherwood were optimistic about their futures after recently graduating from high school.
Cox planned to attend Columbia College Chicago with his girlfriend and study graphic design. Sherwood was excited to be independent, hoping to get a place of her own with friends and maybe start a career in the arts. She was fascinated by tattooing.
But on Sunday, those dreams ended when they were struck and killed by a driver on the Eisenhower Expressway as they changed a tire.
“He was on his route to success, and then he was tragically taken away from us,” said Cox’s legal guardian, Fernando Chavarria.
“Shealyn was the best person you’d ever want to hang out with,” said her father, Devan Sherwood. “She’s the kind of person that would have made the future better.”
Sherwood had recently graduated from Schaumburg High School and Cox from Rolling Meadows High School. The two and a friend were returning home after a night out in Chicago early Sunday when they stopped to fix a flat tire about 3 a.m. in the outbound lanes near Paulina Street, Chavarria said.
The two were struck and killed by a driver who allegedly was drunk and driving on the shoulder of the expressway, headlights off.
Ashanti Gates, 21, appeared in court Tuesday and was charged with nine felony counts, including reckless homicide and driving under the influence, causing death.
A friend of the teens was standing nearby trying to alert other drivers, prosecutors said. He waved at Gates before she allegedly hit their car. The friend was unhurt.
At a hospital, Gates’ blood was drawn, and tests showed she had a blood-alcohol level of 0.188% — more than twice the legal limit of 0.08%. Prosecutors said her 4-year-old child was in the back seat at the time. Gates was also charged with child endangerment.
Gates admitted to drinking vodka before getting behind the wheel, prosecutors said, and a bottle was found in her vehicle, as well as plastic cups that smelled of alcohol.
An assistant public defender appointed to represent Gates said she was working as an unarmed security guard at a university and she had never been charged with a crime before this.
Prosecutors petitioned to have Gates held in jail pending trial, but Judge Mary Marubio denied the motion, finding other conditions could protect the community and ensure that Gates would appear in court.
The judge ordered Gates released on home confinement, but said she could continue to work and take her child to preschool. While on release, Marubio barred Gates from drinking or driving, warning that she could be held in jail for the remainder of her case if she were caught doing either.
Gates, who wiped away tears at the start of the hearing, nodded and quietly agreed. She was expected back in court June 25.
Friends and family of the teens are still grappling with their loss.
Chavarria, 71, described Cox as a “gentle giant” who made friends easily. He wrote music, DJ’d and was a talented artist, he said.
Chavarria said he became Cox’s legal guardian when he was 8 years old, not long after Cox’s mother was killed in a domestic violence incident. Chavarria’s wife is Cox’s aunt.
Lacey Puleo, Cox’s girlfriend of two years, who also planned to attend Columbia, said he was outgoing, confident and magnetic.
“He changed the energy when he walked into a room,” Puleo said. “His energy pulled me right to him. He always knew what to say. He loved me so much.”
Puleo also knew Sherwood, and though their relationship wasn’t close, she said Sherwood was “a beautiful soul” who was one of Cox’s closest friends.
Devan Sherwood said his daughter had an infectious sense of humor that could lift the moods of the people around her.
“She was sarcastic, dry, very smart,” the 47-year-old said. “She could tell a joke in a room, and half the people wouldn’t get it, and the other half would be laughing uncontrollably.”
Sherwood said no one ever had a bad thing to say about his daughter, who was always upbeat. “She was an artful soul,” he said.
An online fundraiser to help cover Cox’s funeral expenses had collected more than $3,500 byTuesday evening.
Chavarria said it felt like the whole of Rolling Meadows had reached out to offer condolences. “He was very loved,” he said.
“Now we just hope that Erik and Shealyn get justice for what happened,” Devan Sherwood said.
