A six-month-old baby boy lost his life Sunday evening after a single-vehicle SUV crash along Interstate 57 in south suburban Harvey, Illinois. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office later identified the infant as Dakari Lomax of Chicago.
The wreck happened around 5:46 p.m. on September 6 during the Labor Day holiday weekend. First responders rushed to northbound I-57 near 147th Street after receiving calls about a red Ford SUV drifting off the road and hitting a light pole.
Eight people were riding inside the vehicle at the time of the collision. That included two adult women, four toddlers, and baby Dakari. Emergency crews brought everyone in the SUV to nearby hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to critical.
Doctors at Ingalls Memorial Hospital tried to save the six-month-old boy, but his injuries were too severe. Dakari was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the emergency room.
State troopers examining the crash scene discovered a troubling detail. None of the five young children in the vehicle were strapped into child safety seats or wearing seatbelts.
For Dakari’s mother, Teairra Wright, the sudden crash turned a holiday family trip into an unthinkable loss. Relatives have set up a fundraiser to assist the family with funeral costs and memorial expenses.
The driver of the Ford SUV, 33-year-old Latasha M. Hope of Hazel Crest, faces multiple felony charges related to the crash. State police arrested Hope after hospital staff cleared her for release.
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