4 victims of fatal I-290 crash identified [Chicago Tribune]

Sept. 27--Authorities have released the names of the four women killed when their SUV veered off westbound Interstate 290 near Addison and rolled down an embankment.

The DuPage County coroner's office identified them as Maria Orellana, age and address unknown, Donna Mejia, age and address unknown, Maria Duran, 44, of Chicago and Juanna Anaya, 44, of Chicago.

The four were killed as they were being driven to a temporary job in the western suburbs Thursday morning, state police said. Three men in the 2003 Ford Explorer, also day workers, were seriously injured.

The driver, who worked for the Chicago-based agency that employed the laborers, was traveling too fast when the vehicle left the road about 6 a.m. just west of Illinois Route 83, state police said. Margot Santillan, 31, of Chicago, has been cited for several traffic violations. No other vehicles were involved in the crash, state police said.

Three of the women who died were ejected from the vehicle as it rolled down the embankment into a wooded area. Santillan and the other woman, a front-seat passenger, were wearing seat belts, but it appeared the other occupants were not, state police said.

The men, ages 28, 43 and 51, were taken to local hospitals with serious injuries, state police officials said. Hospital officials would not disclose their conditions, but state police Lt. Brian Windle said Thursday that all three were expected to recover.

Santillan was treated and released Thursday afternoon from Adventist GlenOaks Hospital in Glendale Heights, a hospital spokesman said. Her family and friends declined to comment as they left the hospital, and Santillan could not be reached at home.

State police investigators had said they were struggled to confirm the identities of the women who died. Windle said Santillan and the other workers didn't know each other and simply met at their company's workplace that morning to carpool to their job site for the day.

"She didn't even know the woman who died in the seat next to her," Windle said. "She knew two of the ladies in the back because she'd worked with them before and knew their first names, but she didn't know their last names or their families or where they lived."

Santillan was charged with driving without a valid license and driving on a suspended vehicle registration, both misdemeanors. She also was cited for improper lane use, failing to reduce speed and driving without insurance, Windle said.

The deadly crash closed the westbound lanes of the expressway for much of the morning, snarling traffic for miles as investigators tried to piece together how the accident occurred while tow truck crews winched the crumpled SUV up the embankment out of the woods.

Windle said state police had not been able to locate anyone who saw the crash, even though it occurred at the beginning of the morning rush. One person did call 911, but authorities weren't able yet to identify that person.

"That's what we find shocking," Windle said. "We're assuming someone witnessed it and maybe continued on their way to work."

Windle said drugs or alcohol did not play a role in the crash.

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