Aurora Man Dies After Weekend Crash Into Retention Pond

AURORA, IL - A 48-year-old old Aurora man who was a passenger in a vehicle that crashed into a West Side retention pond early Sunday morning has died.

Dawa Tamang, of the 300 block of Westpark Avenue in Aurora, was pronounced dead at 10:15 p.m. Sunday at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. He had been airlifted to that facility after receiving treatment at an Aurora hospital after the 7:55 a.m. crash in the 300 block of Marshall Avenue, according to the Aurora Police Department press release.

According to the investigation so far, Tamang was apparently teaching a 33-year-old male relative how to drive in a 2010 Nissan Maxima. It appeared the younger man was attempting to park in a spot near the retention pond when the vehicle suddenly accelerated, went over some bushes, and into the pond. It then flipped on its roof and trapped the two men for an estimated 10 minutes in about four-to-eight feet of water, police said.

A 50-year-old Aurora man who witnessed the crash was already in the pond when Aurora Police arrived. Three officers then jumped into the water and made several attempts to open the vehicle’s doors or break its windows, police said.

When those efforts were unsuccessful, the officers and witness were able to flip the car upright. The Aurora Fire Department Dive Team arrived and with the help of the officers, freed the two men and got them out of the pond. The dive team and one of the officers also did a cursory check to assure there were no additional victims in the car or the water, according to the news release.

The 33-year-old man, who suffered critical injuries, continues to be treated at an Aurora hospital. There were no outward signs of alcohol or drug use at the scene of the crash.

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