Hundreds Attend Vigil For Boy Hit By Car in Weekend Accident

About 200 people gathered at in Darien for a prayer service  Tuesday night for an eighth-grader at who was Sunday.  

The boy has been part of the church's religious education program since he was in second grade, according to Gavin Quinn, a retired priest who led Tuesday's service. 

"We must have hope," Quinn told the crowded room. "We must pray that God will hold (him) in the palm of his hand, that (he) will be able to graduate middle school, be confirmed and attend high school."

Some of the boy's classmates volunteered to help with the service, including reading aloud passages from the Bible and passing out candles and programs.

The prayer service was originally a Catholic mass but was altered to allow people of all faiths to attend. A from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday at Lakeview. 

Quinn told Patch the boy is well-liked by his peers and loved by his two young sisters. He's involved in sports and is an honor roll student, Quinn said.

"He's always full of life and laughter," Quinn said. "His friends love him."  

The boy was riding his bike through the crosswalk at Beller and Lemont roads in Darien Sunday afternoon when he was struck by a car and trapped underneath, according to officials.

The car had to be lifted with two high-pressure air bags to reach him. He was found unconscious and taken to the Level 1 Trauma Center at Advocate Good-Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove before being airlifted to Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn. No current information on his condition has been released. 

After Sunday’s accident, police closed the intersection at Lemont and Beller for more than three hours while the FIAT reconstruction team examined the scene. The investigation into the accident is ongoing.