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2022-08-31 08:49:52 By : Ms. Jenny zhai

Thomas Dobosz died Wednesday following the Sunday morning crash where his wife, Lauren Dobosz, and their four children were killed. The family was active in the Norwood Park community.

ORIOLE PARK — A Rolling Meadows man died Wednesday, several days after a McHenry County crash killed his wife, their four children, a family friend and another driver.

Thomas Dobosz died Wednesday morning after being taken in critical condition to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood following the early Sunday crash, said Natalia Derevyanny, spokesperson for the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. His wife, Lauren Dobosz, and their four children — Emma, Lucas, Nicholas and Ella — also were killed.

The Dobosz family were regulars at Oriole Park, where they were members of the Oriole Park Falcons football and cheer team, the largest youth travel program on the Northwest Side.

Members of the Oriole Park Falcons held a vigil for the family at the park Monday and started a fundraiser for the family’s funeral. It’s raised more than $95,000 in three days from more than 1,500 supporters.

The crash occurred 2:11 a.m. Sunday. Thomas Dobosz was driving west on I-90 near unincorporated Riley when a driver going the wrong way hit the family’s Chevrolet van head-on, according to state police. Both cars caught fire from the impact of the collision, officials said.

Lauren Dobosz and their children — ages 13, 7, 6 and 5 — died at the scene, according to officials and a GoFundMe organizer. Another 13-year-old girl in the Doboszs’ van also died at the scene, officials said. A GoFundMe organizer identified her as Kat.

The group was on their way to a family vacation in Minnesota, according to the Sun-Times.

The 22-year-old driver who hit the Doboszs’ car, Jennifer Fernandez, died at the scene, police said. It was not immediately known why Fernandez was driving in the opposite direction, officials said. An investigation is ongoing.

Lauren Dobosz was the cheer coach and assistant secretary for the Falcons, according to the team website and the fundraiser. Her husband managed the concessions stand.

“[Lauren] always made a great impression on everyone she met, she was full of life, laughter, and always a good time,” Lisa Torres, a member of the Falcons, wrote on the GoFundMe page. “We’re going to miss you Lauren and your spunky, sweet, sassy kids and every-so-loved friend. We shall shine bright this year.”

At Monday’s vigil, friends and family remembered the family.

“That was her No. 1 love … her kids and her family,” Lauren Dobosz’s boss, Kenny Felten, told WGN. “It’s so sad it’s ended this way. I can’t believe it. We’re still in shock here.” 

Condolences and memories also have poured in on social media for the family, with people sharing photos, videos and poems in tribute.

“It is not possible to sum up how amazing this family was in one paragraph,” Ryan Cooper, the team’s cheer director, wrote on the team’s Facebook group. “It would take a lifetime to truly honor them for the people they were. The love they gave to everyone they met. Always there to help no questions asked. Loyal to the core! Qualities that are rare in this world today. Images of your sweet children who I’ve watched grow over the years are flooding my head, their little voices once so vibrant to never be heard again.”

Thomas Dobosz worked as a carpenter, and his wife was a bartender at Lulu’s Gaming in Rolling Meadows, according to WGN.

You can donate to the GoFundMe here.

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