ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. (WLS) — A Rolling Meadows father hospitalized after a wrong-way I-90 crash that killed seven people, including his wife and four children in Hampshire, has died.
Thomas Dobosh, 32, was hospitalized at Loyola University Medical Center after the crash in McHenry County on Sunday. An Oriole Park Falcons coach told ABC7 on Wednesday that Dobosh had died.
Investigators said just after 2 a.m. Sunday, Dobosh was driving west on I-90 near Hampshire in a blue Chevy van when the driver of a gray Acura, identified as 22-year-old Jennifer Fernandez of Carpentersville, drove in the opposite direction and crashed head-on into Dobosh’s car. Both vehicles are fully engulfed in flames.
Officers said they found Fernandez dead at the scene, along with all of Dobosh’s passengers, identified as 31-year-old Lauren Dobosh, and five children: two 13-year-old girls, 7- and 6-year-old boys and a 5-year-old girl.
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Neighbors in Rolling Meadows said four of them were the couple’s children, Emma, Lucas, Nikki and Ella. The other 13-year-old girl was a friend, relatives said.
The Oriole Park Falcons are a tight-knit community.
The Falcons return to the practice field for the first time Wednesday after the unthinkable weekend crash claimed the entire Dobosh family.
The team’s coach said his faith is what keeps him going through this difficult time.
“Faith in God. That there’s a reason for that. That we’re all in this together,” Oriole Park football coach Sam Philpi said.
Philpi said the Dobosch family is very involved with the Oriole Park Falcons football and major league teams, whether it’s volunteering, coaching, playing or fundraising.
“I just dropped my phone and I just couldn’t believe it,” Philpi said. “We didn’t know what to do. We didn’t know. You don’t know what to do in this situation.”
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Philpy coached two of their four children and Lauren was the team mom.
“They were always there. And she, as the mother of the team, they were always there. It’s dedication and love for the program, love for the people in the program. That’s how we felt about them,” he said.
Even after moving 15 miles northwest to Rolling Meadows, Philpi said the Dobosz never missed a practice with their unwavering dedication.
“Lauren and Tom were like, ‘Hey, what do you guys need, do we have it?’ Or the shed needs fixing, Tom’s going to go fix the shed door,” Philpi recalled.
As the Falcons prepare to take the field again, a small reminder of the Dubosch family’s legacy remains under the scoreboard.
“We’re in this as a family, I mean Oriole Park football and cheerleading is a family,” Philpi added.
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