Two teens were killed Monday afternoon when their car slammed into a tree in Bensenville, tearing the vehicle in half, authorities said.
The passenger, Adrian Omar Villegas, 16, of the 100 block of South Church Road in Bensenville, was taken to Loyola University Hospital in Maywood, where he was pronounced dead at 4:56 p.m., according to a spokesman for the Cook County medical examiner's office.
The driver, Jesse O. Aragon-Rodriguez, 17, of the 300 block of Virginia Street in Bensenville, was declared dead at the scene at 4:45 p.m., according to the DuPage County coroner's office.
Bensenville police say the two were in an orange 2002 Honda convertible speeding north on York Road beside a second vehicle when their car lost control, flew off
the roadway and into a tree in the 200 block of South York Road.Emergency crews arrived at about 4:13 p.m. and found the Honda sheared in two, according to a police news release.
Bensenville police Chief Frank Kosman said he was not sure whether the two vehicle were drag racing. He said it was unclear exactly how fast the vehicles were traveling, only to say they were traveling at a "high rate of speed." He said the speed limit on South York Road is 30 mph.
"They were going fast," he said. "We don't know the specific situation, whether they were racing or not." The second vehicle, described as a dark-colored Chevrolet Monte Carlo, continued north on York without stopping, police said. The driver of the car is still at large. Police were working with the DuPage County Accident Reconstruction Team to gather additional details. Anyone with information should call police at 630-350-3455.
--William Lee and Gerry Smith