Des Plaines Foster Mom Of 39 Kids ID'd As Park Ridge Crash Victim

DES PLAINES, IL — The woman who died in a three-vehicle crash Monday morning on Touhy Avenue in Park Ridge has been identified as a Des Plaines mom who fostered dozens of children with her husband over the course of more than two decades, Pioneer Press reported.

Mary Ann Neil, 68, was driving a silver 2016 Kia shortly before 10 a.m. down the 1100 block of Touhy Avenue when her car crossed into oncoming traffic. It was struck by a Mack truck heading the opposite direction and pushed back into eastbound lanes and hit again by a silver Chevrolet, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Neil's husband told the Park Ridge Herald-Advocate his wife was on her way to drop her car off to have a remote-control starter installed. He said he was driving in front of her and screamed as he witnessed her collide with the oncoming dump truck.

Bob Neil suggested Mary Ann may have had a medical emergency behind the wheel and lost control of the car, according to the Herald-Advocate.

Firefighters extricated Neil from the wreckage and took her to Advocate General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 10:49 a.m., according to the medical examiner.

Other drivers involved suffered injuries that police described as non-life threatening. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

» Des Plaines Woman Dies In Crash With Truck On Touhy: Police

Bob Neil said the couple cared for 39 foster children as they raised their adopted daughter.

Mary Ann Neil was also an active member of Christ Church in Des Plaines, where she had served as an usher and was a member of the Women's Circle of Friends philanthropic group, the Herald-Advocate reported.

"She loved kids and was a good lady," a family friend told the paper, describing her as "warm hearted" and "funnier than all heck."

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Christ Church, 1492 Henry St., Des Plaines.

Visitation is set for 3 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Oehler Funeral Home, 2099 Miner St., Des Plaines. Services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, with interment at Memory Gardens Cemetery in Arlington Heights.

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