By Angela Rozas and Joseph Sjostrom, Tribune staff reporters. Tribune staff reporters Art Barnum and James Kimberly contributed to this report Published October 13, 2005
Two days after his daughter and grandson were end in a three-car collision in West Chicago, Mike Donovan grieves as he pictures the bruised 4-year-old in the hospital.
"I held him, and I talked to him. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do," he said. But along with the shock and grief, there is anger too.
One of the drivers involved in the crash, 27-year-old Matthew Lane of Wheaton, had a long history of speeding tickets and driving infractions. He had been cited 42 times in the last nine years in DuPage County, 24 times for speeding, but only had his license revoked once.
Though police have not figured out what happened in the crash, or who was to blame, Donovan wants to know why Lane was driving in the first place.
"I am really angry right now," Donovan said Wednesday, sitting in the kitchen of his Carol Stream home. "My daughter and my grandson are not just going to be another statistic. There is no way a person with 20 violations should have had a driver's license."
Donovan's daughter, Nicole Westerhoff of North Aurora, and his grandson Devon Westerhoff somehow collided with Lane and a third driver on an unlit curve on Fabyan Parkway on Monday evening. Nicole and Devon, as well as Lane, were end. A third driver in a Ford Explorer was not seriously injured.
Driver had valid license
Police aren't sure how fast any of the drivers were going. The posted speed limit is 45 m.p.h. Lane's car, a 1995 Ferrari, split in two from the impact. It may take a week for investigators to reconstruct what happened, said Deputy Chief of Police Don Goncher.
Despite the 24 speeding tickets, Lane had a valid driver's license. Although state law requires that anyone who gets three or more moving violations in a year face suspension, the law excludes tickets in which the violator successfully completes court supervision.
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