Two friends were killed and four others injured after a fiery two-car crash Monday night on DuSable Lake Shore Drive in the Douglas neighborhood, police said.
A 49-year-old man driving a Chevrolet Bolt southbound was changing lanes about 8:45 p.m. Monday in the 3000 block of South DuSable Lake Shore Drive when he collided with a Nissan Altima, causing the Nissan to ram into a tree and catch fire in the median of the road, according to Chicago police.
The man driving the Nissan, Jalean Ewing-Gibbs, 24, and Jaida Rosado Colon, 24, who was a front-seat passenger, were taken to University of Chicago Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead, police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.
Autopsies for Ewing-Gibbs, of the 1700 block North Meade Avenue, and Colon, of the 1400 block of North Fairfield Avenue, determined they both died of multiple injuries during the accident, the office said.
Two 21-year-old women who were passengers in the Nissan were taken in critical condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, police said.
The Chevrolet also veered off the road and crashed into a median. The driver declined medical attention and was arrested at the scene, according to a police report.
Two passengers of the Chevrolet, a 39-year-old woman and a man, 42, were taken to Stroger Hospital in fair condition, police said.
Ewing-Gibbs’ mother, Latasha Gibbs, said the three others her son was traveling with were his friends.
She said her son was a “bright young man” who worked as a barber and spent time volunteering to mentor young kids at the YMCA.
“Jalean understood the importance of family and would make a point to visit everyone. He never met a stranger and was always willing to extend a helping hand,” his mother told the Sun-Times. “His hugs were heartfelt, warm and strong ... His untimely death has truly created a huge hole in our hearts that only time can mend.”
A GoFundMe created to raise funeral expenses has collected more than $5,500 as of midday Wednesday.
“(He) was that guy who was always willing to help,” the fundraiser said of Ewing-Gibbs. “He had a smile that would light up any room.”
