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4 dead in fiery wrong-way crash: ‘I’m lost for words, it hurts so bad’

Feb. 6 at 7:16 a.m.

The wreckage of the Ford Escort driven by Jason Wepsiec (inset) after a two-vehicle accident on westbound I-80 near Hazel Crest. Wepsiec was driving the Ford Escort when it was struck by a 1996 Infiniti driven by Gustavo Vargas, who police say was traveling the wrong way. ( E. Jason Wambsgans/ Chicago Tribune )

Jason Wepsiec spent Sunday evening watching the Superbowl and wishing his beloved Bears were on the field.

After the game, he left his home in Sauk Village and headed to his fiance’s place in Plainfield, which was closer to the unemployment office he planned to visit in the morning. He never made it.

Wepsiec, 34, was driving his Ford Escort down Interstate 80 when an Infiniti going the wrong way plowed into him in a fiery collision near Hazel Crest around 2:15 a.m. Wepsiec was killed, along with three of the four people in the other car.

“He was just trying to come out and be with me,” said Kelli Minger, 23. “I can’t believe this happened.”

Wepsiec was nearing Kedzie Avenue when he was hit by the Infiniti, driven by Gustavo Vargas of Berwyn and carrying three of his buddies after a stop at the Skybox gentlemen’s club in south suburban Harvey.