4 dead after crash in Bridgeview

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Sunday, July 6, 2014
Families remembering 4 dead after crash
Loved ones are remembering the four people killed in a head-on collision in Bridgeview that may have started with drag-racing.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (WLS) -- Loved ones remembered four people killed in a head-on collision in Bridgeview that may have started with drag racing.

A husband and wife were killed when a Camaro that may have been drag racing slammed into their car. The two friends in the Camaro also died.

For hours on Saturday, mourners poured into Hann Funeral Home in Bridgeview to pay their respects at the wake of 21-year-old Aiman Salem and 24-year-old Alaa Alkhatib. A funeral was then held just steps from the deadly accident scene. Islamic burials usually take place quickly.

Authorities say Salem was driving a Camaro that slammed head-on into a pick-up truck on Harlem Avenue near 82nd Street Friday afternoon. Alkhatib was his passenger.

"It's a disaster for my family, and he was a great guy," said Shadi Alkhatib. "He just got engaged, we were planning his wedding, it's a big loss."

Hector and Maria Gonzalez were in the pick-up truck. The husband and wife died at the scene. Their 13-year-old son survived with broken bones.

"They loved each other so much, they did so many things together," said Hector Gonzalez's sister, Sylvia Guzman.

Guzman visited the memorial at the crash site Saturday where four hearts mark the spot. She says her brother drove a food truck and her sister-in-law loved to have family gatherings.

"He was a hard worker," she said. "He never missed his job, he loved his job. They just bought a house. They were fixing it up."

Witnesses claim the Camaro may have been drag racing another car that left the scene.

Mohammad Ayyad says the wreck happened right behind his car and that the Camaro was going at least 90 miles per hour.

"I can't sleep last night, just because I think about what happened," Ayyad said. "I feel sorry for the whole families, the ones that got hurt."

Police are still investigating the crash and have not released any details on what might have led to it.