Friends grieve for student killed in St. Charles crash

ST. CHARLES – Lou Cook couldn’t hold back the tears Monday as she stood at the makeshift memorial for St. Charles East graduate Cameron Godee.

“He was like a little brother to me,” said the 20-year-old Cook, a St. Charles North graduate. “He had everything going for him.”

Godee, 17, of West Chicago, was a passenger in a 2005 Ford Explorer that crashed into two trees in the 3100 block of Royal Fox Drive in St. Charles at 3:22 a.m. Sunday. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Flowers, along with a sign, “CAM – We’ll All Miss You,” were set up in a memorial at the site where he died. Godee, who recently graduated from St. Charles East, would have turned 18 in August.

The driver of the 2005 Ford Explorer, Onofrio Lorusso, 18, of Wayne, has been charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol, unlawful consumption of alcohol by a minor and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.

Neighbors reported that the car was going between 60 mph and 80 mph prior to the accident.

Lorusso’s condition has been upgraded to fair, after previously being in critical condition at Delnor Hospital in Geneva. St. Charles East student Colton Kumerow, 16, a passenger in the back seat of the Ford Explorer, was listed in good condition Monday at Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield.

Another back seat passenger, St. Charles East student Chelsea Mertz, 17, was first transported to Delnor Hospital and then was airlifted to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove.

Citing privacy laws, Good Samaritan Hospital officials on Monday refused to release information about her condition. She had been listed in critical condition on Sunday.

St. Charles police continue to investigate the accident, including looking into Lorusso’s whereabouts before the accident. Any additional charges will be reviewed with the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors declined to comment.

SFlbDealing with the grief

Counselors were at St. Charles East on Monday and will be there today as well for students who need help dealing with their grief.

It has been a tough year for St. Charles East students, who in April gathered for a candlelight vigil in Lincoln Park in St. Charles to remember a student who took his own life.

Tom Dewese, of Geneva-based TriCity Family Services, said each student deals with grief differently.

“You have to give them permission to go through the grief process,” Dewese said.

Zack Rice, of St. Charles, had been friends with Godee since the sixth grade and is already missing his friend.

“This kid changed people’s lives,” Rice said. “If I was ever in a bad mood, he always knew how to put me in a good mood.”

Rice said he was in shock that Godee was even in the car.

“I wouldn’t expect him to get in that situation,” Rice said.

Chris Lambrecht, 19, who graduated from St. Charles East High School last year, can’t believe Godee is gone.

“He was just one of those people who would always be there,” he said.

Godee was a member of the St. Charles High School Rugby Team. His season came to an abrupt halt after he broke his leg in April in a league match against Plainfield.

“He was a hard worker,” head coach Jay Crawford said. “I was really proud of the kid.”