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The Chicago Tribune has an article about a one-car crash on Christmas eve that claimed the life of an 8 year old girl and left her 26 year old father in critical condition.

Eight-year-old Lauren Jessica Smith recently confronted her mother after finding receipts for gifts she had asked from Santa Claus.  The 3rd grader was looking forward to opening the presents, especially a karaoke machine, as she returned from a Christmas Eve family dinner in the south suburbs. She was riding with her father, headed for her grandmother’s house, when their car struck a curb and crashed into a tree in the 1000 block of West Garfield Boulevard around 11:15 p.m. Tuesday, according to police and relatives.

The car came to rest on the passenger side on the grassy median, authorities said.  Lauren was found dead inside the car and her father, 26, was taken in critical condition to Stroger Hospital, where his condition was stabilized. Thursday morning, he still had not been told about the death of his only daughter, according to the girl’s mother, Loressa Hall.

Hall said her daughter, whom she called “Baby,” and her father were driving from an aunt’s home in Sauk Village Christmas Eve. He had stopped at his home near 56th and Wolcott Avenue to pick up presents and was then planning to drop off his daughter at Hall’s mother’s home, where Hall and her daughter were to wake up Christmas day.

Firefighters spent about 40 minutes working to free the father, then they continued to search the crushed car and found the young girl trapped inside, officials said.  Firefighters freed Lauren in 20 minutes, but their efforts to save her life were unsuccessful.

Tim Olk was at the scene and submitted several images from the extrication.

Tim Olk photo

Tim Olk photo

Tim Olk photo

Tim Olk photo

Tim Olk photo

Tim Olk photo

Tim Olk photo