Community mourns student killed by car

Community mourns student killed by car
Originally published Saturday, April 7, 2007

By Nadia Malik and Erin Holmes
Daily Herald Staff Writers

Before he was struck by two cars and killed Thursday night, 18-year-old Buffalo Grove resident Mateusz Szakola was able to spend the evening with his family and friends.
Police said the Buffalo Grove High School senior spent time at various friends' houses on the night before a day off school.
Szakola was by himself, however, when he stepped off the raised median of Lake-Cook Road, a quarter-mile west of Raupp Boulevard, and was hit by a westbound Toyota.
The side mirror hit Szakola, but police said he was still standing and unhurt when he stepped off the median once again into the eastbound lanes.
Szakola was struck and killed by a second car, police said, which fled the scene. Police are continuing to search for the driver of that car.
The Lake County coroner pronounced Szakola dead at the scene. Coroner Richard Keller said he died of severe body trauma and was killed by the impact of the second car.
Buffalo Grove police say they don't know why Szakola was on Lake-Cook Road - about five blocks from his home - at 10:50 p.m. Thursday but said it wasn't unusual since school was closed the next day for Good Friday.
Bruce Ackerman, a senior at Buffalo Grove High School, said Szakola, who also went by "Matt" or "Matthew," had been spending time with his girlfriend.
Ackerman had gotten to know Szakola through their mutual interest in music. They were planning to play in a Battle of the Bands on April 27.
"We both got into our guitars and started playing a couple years (back)," Ackerman said.
Benji Gold, also a senior at the school, said he would skateboard with Szakola and other friends regularly in middle school.
"My favorite part about him is that he was always showing me these new guitar players and things I hadn't seen before and wouldn't be able to find myself," Gold said.
"Matt was literally the nicest guy in the world. He was friends with everybody."
Police are continuing to look for the second driver involved in the accident who drove away from the crash scene.
After collecting materials left at the scene, police have determined that the second car is a black 2004 to 2007 Cadillac XLR. The two-seat luxury roadster has a retractable top and missing parts from the left front bumper that also houses a square fog lamp.
Police said the vehicle is rare and are hoping someone will recognize it. They are also talking to General Motors manufacturers to find recent purchases of the car.
"The driver of the Cadillac may not have been directly responsible for the cause of the crash," police Sgt. Scott Kristiansen said.
Szakola wasn't involved in any organized sports at Buffalo Grove High School but was very athletic, said Athletic Director Kip North, who had Szakola in physical education class and recalled him as a teen who - unlike some his age - loved being there and thrived.
According to his profiles on the networking Web sites My-Space and Facebook, Szakola also loved to snowboard and skateboard. He also lists his hometown in Poland.
"He was wonderful," North said. "He enjoyed coming to class ... and would really excel."
Mike Terson, a representative of the Buffalo Grove Park District, said Szakola worked for the Clubhouse, a before- and after-school care program through the district.
Szakola worked at Ivy Hall School in Buffalo Grove as a Clubhouse leader, which involved playing games and doing activities with younger children.
Szakola is the second Buffalo Grove High School teen to die in an automobile-related crash in the last nine months; in July, 16-year-old Corey Diamond was killed when the car he was riding in was struck by a speeding, stolen U-Haul.
Chavario White, a 15-year-old Buffalo Grove High School student from Wheeling, was also shot and killed last September.
"It's been a very difficult year," Schaetzlein said. He called the untimely deaths "an unfortunate life lesson that our kids unfortunately are having to learn at so early an age."
Anyone with information on the hit-and-run driver or who was a witness to the accident should call the Buffalo Grove police at (847) 459-2560.