Joberta Williams’ Friday night began like any other, tucking her 6-month-old daughter Josette into bed in their Woodlawn home.
The infant had just celebrated her first Christmas, playing with a new rattle and stuffed animal.
But minutes later, family found her struggling to breathe.
They rushed off toward the nearest hospital, but couldn’t get there in time. A driver blew a red light and struck their car before fleeing the scene. Two more cars hit them soon after.
A bystander helpfully offered to drive them the rest of the way, but panicked and took them in the wrong direction.
The mother and authorities still don’t know if the crash or the delay contributed to the girl’s death.
“It’s any mother’s worst nightmare,” Williams, 24, said. “It’s the worst way to end the year.”
What started the whole tragic episode remains a mystery. Williams said her daughter had never had trouble breathing before.
After putting Josette in bed, “we went to check on her and noticed she was having trouble breathing,” Williams said.
She called 911 and was told to perform CPR while waiting for an ambulance, Williams said. A friend in the home, who was there with her children for a playdate, said they could get to the hospital faster if they drove themselves.
“We started to rush to the hospital as quickly as we could. And all of a sudden, we were hit by cars,” she said.
Police said Williams’ car was struck by a westbound driver who blew a red light about 9:40 p.m. at 63rd Street and Cottage Grove Avenue.
Williams’ car was then struck by two more vehicles. Two people in the car that blew the light ran from the scene and were not in custody, police said.
A witness offered to drive them to Comer Children’s Hospital. But the driver was confused.
“He didn’t know where he was going. Everyone was panicking,” she says.
They circled back to the site of the crash, where an ambulance was just arriving.
Williams and the girl’s father got into the ambulance with Josette and paramedics took over doing chest compressions.
Not long after reaching the hospital, Josette was pronounced dead at 10:29 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Autopsy results are pending. Williams said she was told results could take six months.
Williams had always wanted a baby girl. With two young boys, 2 and 4, the 24-year-old took special care of her newborn.
“I was so happy when I had her. She was my best friend. She hardly cried. She just laughed and smiled all the time,” Williams said.
The family is collecting donations on GoFundMe.
