Police Investigating Cause of Crash That Killed Teen in Bartlett

Authorities are still investigating what caused a pickup truck to cross the centerline and collide head on with a box truck Friday afternoon in Bartlett in a collision that claimed the life of a Chicago teen this past Friday.

Susanna Kaleta, a straight-A student and a captain of the soccer team at Chicago Academy High School, died at St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates following the two-vehicle crash on Route 59 near West Bartlett Road Friday afternoon, the Chicago Tribune reports.

The crash happened when a pickup truck heading south on Route 59 near West Bartlett Road crossed the centerline and hit a box truck, the Daily Herald reports. Kaleta was a backseat passenger in the pickup truck.

The driver of the pickup truck, a woman in her 20s who is reportedly Kaleta's cousin, was airlifted to Good Samaritan Hospital and the other passenger in the truck, a male in his 20s, was taken by ambulance to a hospital, the Chicago Tribune reports. The driver of the box truck was seriously injured.

No charges had been filed in the crash, Commander Mike McGuigan told the Chicago Tribune.

"We are still looking into what caused the accident," said McGuigan, who said alcohol was not suspected as a factor. "If charges are appropriate, we will give them then."

Police are looking into if distractions or a third vehicle may have played a part in the crash, which happened along a stretch of roadway where the speed limit is 45 mph, according to the Daily Herald. Authorities do not believe that speed was a factor in the collision.

Meanwhile, an online GoFundMe page has been set up to "help aid in the financial burden that comes with a death in a loved one" following Kaleta's death. So far, over $6,000 has been raised.

More via the Chicago Tribune

Patch will update with more information as it becomes available.

Photo via GoFundMe