Chicago High School Teacher Killed In Tri-State Pileup Near Des Plaines
(STMW) -- A Chicago high school teacher was killed in a four-vehicle crash Saturday morning on the Tri-State Tollway in northwest suburban Des Plaines.
A maroon 1999 Ford Windstar minivan stalled out in traffic on southbound I-294 at mile post 41-1/2 between Touhy and Devon Avenues at 10:08 a.m., according to a statement from Illinois State Police. A blue 2013 Honda CR-V then rear-ended the Ford and a gray 2010 Volkswagen Tiguan rear-ended the Honda.
The 38-year-old woman driving the Volkswagen and a 4-year-old girl who was her passenger "relocated to the back seat of the Honda" after the crash, police said.
Des Plaines Fire Department Battalion Chief Chris Wozni told reporters at the scene that the crash happened in the middle lanes and the Honda's driver had helped the other car's occupants get into his vehicle in an attempt to move them over to the shoulder.
The Honda's driver, identified by police as 54-year-old Jeffery R. Komada, was standing outside his vehicle after the crash when a white 1995 Peterbuilt semi hit him, the unoccupied Volkswagen and the Honda, according to police.
Komada, who lived in Des Plaines, was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where he was later pronounced dead, according to police.
Komada was the director of technology at William Howard Taft High School, principal Mark Grishaber told CBS 2.
"He was an esteemed colleague and he was a friend to everyone in the building. Last year he was one of our teachers who was Educator of the Year. He was one of the kindest people I have ever met. He will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family," Grishaber said in a an email.
Several lanes were closed for investigation after the crash, but they had been reopened as of 1:30 p.m., according to police. No citations or charged have been issued in connection with the crash.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2016. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
