Sleeping Teen Girl Dies When Car Crashes Into Apartment

Parents try to do anything they can to shield their teenage children from harm. They educate the kids about the dangers that lurk in the world. They keep tabs on where they go and who their friends are. Sometimes, parents will even say no to their teens for their own good.

But the cruel truth is that sometimes you can do everything possible to keep teens from danger, and they still get hurt - or killed. Even if they are at home asleep.

A Maywood family is mourning the loss of their 14-year old daughter after a car crashed into their home and killed the girl while she was sleeping. According to authorities, a Hyundai Elantra smashed into the wall of an apartment building on South 19th Avenue near Warren Avenue Monday night around 11:30pm. The car wound up on top of the teen who was sleeping on a sofa, and she did not survive her injuries. The wreck also injured her 12-year old brother, who is now in stable condition at a Chicago hospital.

The reason why the car collided with the building is even stranger. It appears that the driver of the Elantra had been shot a few blocks away and apparently lost control of the vehicle. Police do not know how he came to be shot or who the shooter was, although there have been reports in recent weeks of gunfire in Chicago's suburbs.

This scenario raises an issue concerning who is to blame for the death of the teen and the injuries to her brother. Was it the man who drove the Elantra into the apartment building? Or was it the unknown person or persons who shot him? Authorities will have to investigate further in order to determine the answers to these questions. Only then will the teen's family be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the individual who is responsible.