Remembering best friends killed in Tinley Park crash – NBC Chicago

Tyler Koscinski and Mason Santiago first became friends in third grade.

From then on, their friendship remained unbroken.

“They were being silly and having fun together,” Tyler Koscinski's mother Kelly told NBC Chicago. “They were together the whole time.”

Koscinski, 20, of New Lenox, and Mason Santiago, 19, of Joliet, were killed in a collision early Sunday morning on Interstate 80 between La Grange Road and Harlem Avenue in Tinley Park. Police said a Dodge Journey SUV and a semi-truck were involved in the fatal crash, but no details about how the crash occurred were released. The crash remained under investigation as of Friday evening.

Koscinski had recently graduated from Lincoln-Way West High School, where he played football and baseball, and had celebrated his 20th birthday a few days before the crash.

Koscinski was a fun-loving person with an infectious smile, his parents said in an interview with NBC Chicago.

“[He] “It was just a joy to be around him,” his mother said.

Santiago was also an athlete, graduating from Providence Catholic High School where he played football. Santiago was just beginning his sophomore year at Saint Xavier University where he was a member of the football team.

Kelly Koscinski told the Chicago Tribune that the duo were on their way home from Saint Xavier at the time of the accident.

In a statement to NBC Chicago, Santiago's mother said the two young athletes were “almost inseparable.”

Koscinski's family expressed similar sentiments, saying the two were “pretty much inseparable.”

“The fact that we both lost makes it even more tragic,” said Kelly Koscinski.

Relatives have established the Tyler Koscinski Memorial Foundation, which provides scholarships and support to young athletes in the Lincoln-Way area to ensure that “Tyler's spirit continues to inspire excellence and opportunity in the world of sports.”

“We have to keep his memory alive. And that is his legacy, that is his goal,” Kelly Koscinski said of the foundation.

Santiago's mother's full statement to NBC Chicago is below:

We share Mason's story with great compassion for Tyler and his family. Mason and Tyler were best friends and always were who they were. They went everywhere together and did everything together. When Tyler was there, you knew Mason was there too. They were almost inseparable. Mason lived with great passion and love for everyone he met.

The effort and intensity with which he performed his duties on the football field was the way he touched and uplifted others. No task was too big for Mason and that is a measure of the support of his coaches, family and friends who supported him and continue to support us now. We are beyond grateful for everyone who has helped us and shown their support during this time.