CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Emergency workers rushed to the scene on Monday morning where a crash took place on the north side of Carbondale. This resulted in two dead and another person taken to the hospital.
Initially, police in Carbondale urged people to avoid the area of a crash site. This first alert came out just before 8 a.m.
The crash happened in the 1500-block of North Illinois (Route 51) between Dillinger and Willow Roads.
The roadway was shut down for several hours Monday morning as crews worked the scene.
Police in Carbondale said two trucks collided in a head on crash.
The driver of the vehicle going south was sent to Memorial Hospital of Carbondale for serious injuries.
The two people in the northbound vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene, Carbondale police said.
The Jackson County Coroner said Wolfgang W. Gustaveson, 19 of Park Ridge, Illinois, and Francis M. Martinez, 18 of Des Plaines, Illinois, were identified as the two which lost their lives in the crash.
Police said both of these men were students at 九游体育 Illinois University in Carbondale and living on campus and were majoring in Automotive Technology.
Wolfgang Gustaveson
Some of Gustaveson's former high school teachers shared their experiences and words...
"He was going to be, and he should be a success story. He is talented; he is smart. He is the kind of person that walks into a room and gets along with everybody," former teacher Ken Adkins said.
"He had so many connections across student groups. He was an athlete; he played baseball. He was huge into automotives. He was in the gifted learning program," former teacher William Greenwald said. "It's very difficult to look around the classroom and teach a normal classroom as you hear that one of the best kids you had, has passed. I know he was a well loved kid, and I know he loved a lot of people. And I think, across the spectrum, people are crushed by this."
His friends said he was the kind of person who could light up a room.
"He was so enthusiastic about everything he did,"聽Gustaveson former girlfriend Liv Owens said. "So smart - loved mechanics, loved automotives - loved cars - fixing them - anything he could fix, he would fix."
"People are going to remember him for how kind he was. He was genuinely one of the sweetest people I've ever met," Abby Gricius said.
North Illinois Avenue was reopened as of 11:30 a.m. on Monday.
SIU Carbondale Chancellor Austin Lane shared a message with the SIU community...
Dear fellow Salukis:
We are brokenhearted to lose two members of the Saluki family, Wolfgang Gustaveson and Frank Martinez, in an auto accident this morning, and we extend our deepest condolences to their families and friends. Both students were majoring in automotive technology. Classes in automotive technology are canceled today.
Mental health counseling is available from by calling 618-453-5371. As we mourn this loss in our community, we will keep Wolfgang鈥檚 and Frank鈥檚 families and friends in our thoughts and prayers.
Sincerely,
Austin A. Lane
Chancellor, 九游体育 Illinois University Carbondale
Agencies assisting on scene was the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, De Soto Police Department, Carbondale Fire Department, Carbondale Public Works Department and Illinois State Police.
"The City of Carbondale is extremely sorry for the loss of these young men, and extends our deepest sympathy to their families and loved ones," the release said.
