Streamwood High School senior Melissa Lounds recalls the 4:30 a.m. telephone call that ripped apart her family’s world.
The caller was Elisa McElmeel, delivering the terrible news that Melissa’s 18-year-old brother, Matthew, and McElmeel’s two sons, Anthony, 18, and Eric, 17, had been injured in a car accident. Police say the Dec. 23 crash in Hoffman Estates was caused by a drunken driver who had a blood-alcohol content nearly three times the legal limit.
Anthony McElmeel died of his injuries, and Matthew Lounds remainshospitalized in critical condition. Eric McElmeel had minor injuries.
“I’m mad because there was no reason this driver should have been on the road,” Melissa Lounds, 17, said. “We’ve lost one of our best friends, and this has changed the lives of our two families forever.”
A month after the crash, Streamwood students will gather Saturday at a sock hop fundraiser.
They hope to help ease the financial burden on the families of Anthony McElmeel and Matthew Lounds, members of the high school’s Class of 2000.
The dance is only one example of how students at Streamwood have rallied around the two families. The girls basketball team, in particular, has been quick to comfort and support team member Melissa Lounds.
George Rosner, Streamwood’s varsity girls basketball coach and student council adviser, found himself thrust into the role of counselor last month when both the car crash and the death of team member Samantha Henwood’s father rocked the team. Rosner and his players attended the wakes as a team.
“This has been a very tough time because you just don’t know what to say,” Rosner said. “We had a tournament we were obligated to play, but I told Melissa it was up to her whether she felt up to being a part of it. She ended up playing two out of three games.”
Lounds said basketball helps get her mind off the anger she’s struggling with, and Rosner’s support and intense practice sessions keep her focused on her responsibilities, such as final exams and daily treks to visit her brother at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood.
Streamwood senior Matt Rojo, 18, will volunteer as deejay for the night. Senior Mary Medina, 18, said she plans to sell buttons with the high school’s student council in hope of raising at least $2,000.
Like many other students at the high school, Rojo and Medina are bitter that the crash allegedly was caused by a drunken driver. Dagoberto Noyola of Elgin faces a charge of reckless homicide as well as numerous counts of aggravated DUI in connection with the case.
“Both Anthony and Eric went to school, but they also had jobs where they worked so hard … they helped support their family,” Medina said. “We’re trying to get the word out about the fundraiser. Our goal is to get everyone in the school to go.”
Lounds said, she and her brother shared the same passion for basketball. A freshman honor student at Elgin Community College, Matthew Lounds was saving his paychecks from Target before heading off to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign next fall.
Lounds said her brother awoke recently from a coma.
“My mom and I were glad that we were both there to see it, but we know it’s still going to be a long road,” she said.
For information about making contributions to the Lounds and McElmeel families, contact Harris Bank-Schaumburg at 847-301-2265.
