In a heartbeat, Ruben Lujano and two other men, good friends Daekwon Cunningham and Martese J. Williams, died together this week after stepping out of their cars following an accident on I-57 in West Pullman.
As Lujano, 50, drove home after working Tuesday, it was already early Wednesday, and he had a day to look forward to. He had taken it off to celebrate his daughter’s 30th birthday and go Downtown to snap pictures by the Christmas tree.
He was almost home.
Instead, Lujano stood among two other men — strangers to him — when they got out of their vehicles after a crash.
Another car was approaching behind them on I-57 near 119th Street just after midnight. It hit and killed all three instantly.
Helping others came naturally to Lujano. It was part of his selfless nature, and it was how he lived his life, said relatives, including his former wife, Destiny Jones.
“He never took credit for anything,” Jones said. “He made [light] of every bad situation [to make sure] people weren’t sad.”
“I’m numb, I don’t even know where to start,” Lujano’s sister Noemi Lujano said. “We’re trying to make sure we honor him.”
Daekwon Cunningham, 29, and Williams, 33, were friends, who grew up together and were out “having fun” when the wreck occurred, said Gretchen McClendon, who shares a 10-year-old son named Dae’Von with Cunningham.
“They stepped out of their car to help the other person,” McClendon said. A third person in their car, the driver, survived and told her what happened.
Tracy Cunningham, Daekwon’s mother, said, “He brought light and energy to every space he was in. … He walks into the room and everyone instantly feels better just because of his presence.”
Daekwon Cunningham grew up on the city’s South Side, attended Drake Elementary School and graduated from Dunbar Vocational Career Academy high school, 3000 S. King Drive.
“He was very athletic,” his mother said. “He played softball, basketball and football.”
Daekwon was involved with and had been “excelling” at Chicago CRED, a violence prevention organization founded by Arne Duncan, the former secretary of education in the Obama administration, his mother said.
“He was bettering himself,” she said, adding he also was attending trade school.
Williams’ relatives could not be reached immediately.
Ruben Lujano, a supervisor at Ed Miniat LLC, a meat processor in South Holland, was also well-loved at work.
Several former coworkers reached out to family and described him as a “great boss.”
Jones said Lujano even helped a mother at his job put her daughter through college after her husband died.
Lujano was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico and spent most of his life in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, where he still resided.
He enjoyed taking walks by the lake, house music, freestyle, salsa and low-rider cars, even having his own at one point, his sister said. Lujano was a devoted Chicago Bears fan and loved dancing and fixing electronics.
“That was his passion, cars and fixing electronics,” Noemi Lujano said.
Noemi Lujano was hesitant at first to establish a fundraiser but did so for her brother’s daughters, and she said she was in awe and “humbled” at how many people made donations. The fundraiser had raised more than $6,300 as of Friday afternoon.
Noemi Lujano last saw her brother for Thanksgiving dinner less than a week before the crash. His willingness to “be present” is one of her favorite memories.
“Whatever we were doing, he just wanted to always participate in family gatherings,” Noemi Lujano said. “We have so many memories of him being there for us.”
Jones echoed similar sentiments.
“He loved his daughters so much,” Jones, 53, said. “He would call me every day to check in on how they were doing if they didn’t answer their phones.
“We got divorced, but we were still a family,” she said. “He would still go to the house [and] take care of the children. He never left.”
Noemi Lujano added: “There are a lot of people reaching out to me that I don’t even know, saying how much they love my brother.”
Now, Ruben Lujano’s relatives want answers about the wreck, which also left five other people, who witnessed it, injured.
“We have so many questions, but state police cannot give us answers yet,” Noemi Lujano, 52, said.
When asked for an update Friday, Illinois State Police declined to share additional details on the crash, citing the need “to protect the integrity of an active investigation.”
Anyone who witnessed, has information, or may have dashcam footage of the crash that could help the investigation is asked to call (847) 294-4400 or email ISP.CrimeTips@Illinois.gov.
A wake is planned for Ruben Lujano on Sunday from 2 to 7 p.m. at G Martinez Funeral Home, 5725 S. Pulaski Road, and a memorial service is set for Monday from 9 to 10 a.m. at La Villita Community Church, 2300 S. Millard Ave.