Crime & Safety
Police: Alcohol a Factor in Fatal SUV, Train Crash; Vigil Held Thursday
At least one hundred people showed up for a vigil Thursday evening in Round Lake to remember Alyssa Carranza, 7, and her father, Francisco Carranza, 36, according to media reports.
An autopsy Thursday showed alcohol was a factor in a crash that killed a 36-year-old Round Lake Beach man and his 7-year-old daughter after their SUV drove through an activated railroad crossing gate and was hit by a Metra train in Round Lake Park Wednesday, according to CBS Chicago.
Francisco Carranza, 36, died at the scene of the crash and the body of his daughter, Alyssa M. Carranza, 7, who was a second-grade student at St. Joseph Catholic School in Round Lake, was found 50 feet from the crash scene, according to the Daily Herald.
Police said the accident happened when Carranza was driving near the intersection of Route 134 and Porter Drive in Round Lake Park around 6 p.m. and then traveled over the Metra tracks and was hit by the Metra train, according to CBS Chicago.
Police said crossing gates were active at the time Carranza drove through them and authorities say preliminary reports show alcohol was a factor in the crash, according to the Daily Herald.
WGN-TV reports surveillance video showed the SUV pulling up to the crossing gates — while lights were flashing — and then shows the SUV suddenly driving through the gates and the crossing. Police are investigating whether a mechanical error or other distractions may have been contributing factors in the crash, according to the article.
Police originally thought there was only one victim—the father—in the crash, according to the Daily Herald. Allysa's body was found around 8 p.m. in a snowbank hours after she was ejected from the SUV, according to ABC 7 Chicago.
Francisco Carranza owned Carranza Insurance Agency and was well known throughout the community in Round Lake, according to an ABC 7 Chicago video report.
At least one hundred people showed up for a vigil Thursday evening in Round Lake to remember Alyssa, a shy girl who was on the cheerleading squad, and her dad, who often donated to "causes he believed in," according to WGN-TV.
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