Shooting Victim Crashes Into St. Ray's, Joseph Statue Ruined

JOLIET, IL — Two young men were injured early Thursday morning when their red car smashed into one of the large pillars in front of St. Raymond's Cathedral in the 600 block of North Raynor. Joliet's Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Carey told Patch that the ambulance crews were told that the driver had been shot and that's what caused him to lose control and crash into St. Ray's church at 1:50 a.m. Thursday.

Joliet community activist Bob Hernandez arrived at the scene around 3 a.m. and produced a Facebook Live video of the incident as Joliet police officers and firefighters responded to the one-car wreck.

The police had roped off the front of the cathedral with yellow crime scene tape. Father Bill Dewan, pastor at St. Ray's since 2018, told Joliet Patch that the overnight crash destroyed the statue of Joseph. "Joseph went like a rocket," he remarked.

Dewan said that insurance adjusters were on the scene Thursday to assess the damage. He said that a statue of Mary, the mother of Jesus, was also struck by the car.

Dewan said he did not know the extent of the damage to the Mary statue. The Joseph statue can't be repaired, he said.

The Joliet Fire Department told Patch that the 29-year-old driver was transported to the hospital in serious but stable condition. His 28-year-old passenger was also hospitalized, the fire department said. The driver was the only shooting victim, fire department officials said.

The giant pillars in front of St. Ray's sustained minor damage, but no major structural damage, according to the fire department.