Three men, including two brothers, died after the car they were traveling in left a rural Kane County road early Saturday and hit a tree. Two others were seriously injured in the one-car crash.
Zohair Husain, 18, of Huntley and his brother Kumail Husain, 20, of Algonquin, both students at Harper College in Palatine, were killed. Zohair was pronounced dead at the scene while Kumail died after being transported to Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.
Also killed was Ayush Joshi, 20, of Hoffman Estates, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said the driver, Mohammed Jaffrie, 24, of Crystal Lake had come off Brier Hill Road near Hampshire and was heading west along Dietrich Road, just north of Interstate Highway 90, when he lost control of the 2003 Infiniti G35 and hit a tree about 3:30 a.m.
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Jaffrie was taken to Provena St. Joseph’s Hospital in Elgin, where he was listed in critical condition late Saturday, police said. Jaffrie was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and driving too fast for conditions.
Also injured was Henry Onwualu, 19, of Huntley, who was airlifted to St. Anthony’s Medical Center in Rockford, where he was listed in critical condition late Saturday, according to police.
It is not clear whether the men were wearing seat belts.
“They were the nicest kids,” said Zehra Zafer of Algonquin, an aunt of the Husain brothers, who added the Husain family had moved to Chicago two years ago. “This is such a big shock. They were two brothers in the same family and now there is only one sister left. This is such a big loss.”
Friends of the men also were shocked to hear of the deaths.
Rakesh Patel said he took a psychology class at Harper College with both Kumail Husain and Jaffrie last semester.
“I just saw [Husain] on Thursday. There is an Indian-Pakistani Student Association, and he was at a party,” said Patel, who said Husain and Jaffrie were “funny guys” who were often the center of attention. “When he came to class, everyone would know it. When these guys came in, everybody knew they were there, and it even made the teachers smile.”
Kane County sheriff’s police spokesman Pat Gengler said it is unclear whether alcohol was a factor in the accident, which is still under investigation.
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