4-Year-Old Dies After Tragic Beecher Crash

UNINCORPORATED BEECHER, IL — A day after a horrific crash that claimed the lives of his pregnant mother and 1-year-old brother, 4-year-old Weston Schmidt has died. The Will County Sheriff's Office said officials were notified Tuesday evening that Weston was pronounced dead at 5:55 p.m. at Comer Children's Hospital in Chicago. Weston was a passenger in his mother's Subaru Outback when the vehicle was struck by a pickup truck Monday morning in unincorporated Beecher. Mother Lindsey Schmidt, 29, and son Kaleb Schmidt, 1, were pronounced dead after the crash.

Will County officials on Tuesday confirmed that Lindsey Schmidt was several months pregnant at the time of her death. Charges are pending against the 25-year-old driver of the pickup, who failed to stop at a stop sign prior to the crash, police said.

On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the Will County Sheriff's Office said Weston and his 6-year-old brother were on life support at Comer Children's Hospital. The 6-year-old, who was placed in a medically induced coma, remains in critical condition, the sheriff's office said Wednesday.

Baby, Pregnant Mother Killed In Will County Crash Identified

The July 24 crash isn't the first tragedy for the Schmidt family. In 2005, Lindsey Schmidt's brother also died in a crash in Beecher.

The mother was taking her sons to vacation Bible school at the family's church at the time of the fatal crash. A donation fund for the family has been set up at First Community Bank and Trust. Checks should be made payable to The Schmidt Family Fund and delivered to either the bank's Beecher or Peotone locations. Checks can also be mailed to PO Box 457, Beecher, IL 60401.

Schmidt family photo via Becky Broderick of Broderick photography.