Crash kills Barrington Hills man, injures ex-Bears Hanie, LaRocque

A 35-year-old man died and his two passengers, both former Chicago Bears players, were injured Monday night when his car struck a tree along a residential Barrington Hills street, police said.

Salvatore DiMucci of Barrington Hills was pronounced dead at St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates after the crash, which occurred about 9:45 p.m. on Goose Lake Drive, just west of Brinker Road.

Passengers Caleb Hanie, 30, of Rockwall, Texas, and Joey LaRocque, 30, of Agoura Hills, California, were taken to Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital near Lake Barrington with injuries that were not life-threatening, police said.

Hanie spent four years as a backup quarterback for the Bears between 2008 and 2011, and later spent time with four other NFL teams. LaRocque appeared in 14 games for the Bears in 2009 as a reserve linebacker.

According to police, DiMucci was driving his 2015 Mercedes-Benz east on Goose Lake Drive when it left the road, struck a tree and crashed into a ditch. The three men were on their way to DiMucci's home after eating at a restaurant in South Barrington, Barrington Hills Police Chief Richard Semelsberger said.

Hanie remained at Good Shepherd on Tuesday with hand injuries that are not life-threatening, Semelsberger said. LaRocque was treated and released.

Semelsberger said speed was "definitely a factor" in the crash, though the exact speed the vehicle was traveling is still under investigation.

DiMucci graduated from Wilmette's Loyola Academy in 1999 and played fullback on the school's football team. He was recruited to play football at the University of Wisconsin.

"He was the guy who we all wanted to be like because of how fast he was and how big he was," friend Jarrett Payton said Tuesday. "Athletically he was just different. He was just always playing at the next level."

Payton said he remembers riding bikes with DiMucci and other friends in the summer and running into each other in downtown Barrington.

"Most people who knew him always saw him as just a good friend ... he had a really big heart," he said.

DiMucci was the son of Salvatore DiMucci Jr., a prominent suburban developer whose family played a significant role in the building of Mount Prospect and Lake Zurich. The family company, DiMucci Development, also had properties in Naperville, Cicero, Palatine, Inverness, and Round Lake. A person who answered the phone at the company Tuesday said no one was available to comment.

The Cook County Medical Examiner, the Lake County Major Crash Assistance Team and Barrington Hills police continue to investigate the crash.