5 children, 3 adults killed in fiery wrong-way crash on interstate, Illinois police say

Update: The father of the family killed in the crash, 32-year-old Thomas Dobosz, has died, officials told news outlets.

Dobosz was behind the wheel of a van, traveling along U.S. Interstate 90 on Sunday, July 31, with his wife, their four children, and a teenage family friend, when a wrong-way driver crashed into them, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The children, ranging in age from 5 to 13 years old, died at the scene, along with Dobosz’ wife, Lauren, and the driver of the wrong-way vehicle, 22-year-old Jennifer Fernandez, according to an Illinois State Police report.

Dobosz was airlifted to a hospital with serious injuries.

The husband and father died Wednesday, Aug. 3, at Loyola Medical Center, TV station WGN reported.

The original story continues below.

At least seven people are dead after a fiery crash along U.S. Interstate 90 in Illinois on Sunday, July 31, investigators told news outlets.

Around 2 a.m., a car driving the wrong way on I-90 crashed into a van at mile marker 33, near the town of Hampshire, Illinois State Police said in a release.

Both vehicles went up in flames, ISP said. A woman and five children in the van were killed, along with another woman in the car they collided with.

One person was taken by helicopter to a hospital in critical condition, the release said.

Police had not released the identities of anyone involved as of the afternoon of July 31.

This story was originally published July 31, 2022 at 12:50 PM with the headline "5 children, 3 adults killed in fiery wrong-way crash on interstate, Illinois police say."