Car Slams Into School; Driver Dies No Pupils Injured In Morning Wreck
December 6, 2003 - Chicago Tribune
A Darien man died early Friday after his station wagon crashed into a parochial school. No pupils were on the property when the crash occurred about 5:30 a.m. The alarm system at Our Lady of Peace School, 709 Plainfield Rd. in Darien, was set off when the car driven by Raymond Hawser, 62, hit the south end of the building, said Darien Police Chief Robert Pavelchik. Hawser, who was driving north on Farmingdale Drive, crossed 75th Street and went through a fence before crossing the Catholic school's lawn and striking the building, Pavelchik said. The car driven by Hawser, of the 7600 block of Sussex Creek Drive, crashed into the computer lab, damaging a computer, Pavelchik said. Hawser, who was unresponsive when emergency crews reached the scene, was taken to Hinsdale Hospital where he was pronounced dead, Pavelchik said. No one else was injured.The school did not open Friday after the crash. Autopsy results were not available Friday evening, said a spokesman for the DuPage County coroner's office. "The initial speculation was that he had a heart attack or something and just kept on going," said Pavelchik. He said Hawser did not appear to be seriously injured when he was taken out of his station wagon. The school has more than 500 pupils in kindergarten through 8th grade. School officials declined to specify the damage to the building. They said pupils were notified of the closing before 6 a.m.

The boys had a day off school.