A grieving mother’s sobs broke the stillness as dusk settled over soccer fields Tuesday evening near Bloom High School in Chicago Heights.
Cristina Leon traveled from Chicago with her husband, Savino, and older son, Benjamin, 11, to attend a candlelight vigil for her younger son, Giovanni, 7.
Leon’s husband held her and more than 300 community members surrounded her as she cried in front of a photo of her son. Gio, as he was known, died Sunday, a day after a vehicle struck him on Dixie Highway.
“Gio, I love you so much,” big brother Benji Leon said through tears. “I want to see your smile one more time.”
In a poster-sized photo displayed on a table, Gio beamed as he held a large soccer trophy inscribed with “campeon,” or champion in Spanish. He wore a uniform emblazoned with sponsor logos and a lanyard for the Alianza de Futbol youth soccer tournament.
Gio lived in the 10900 block of South Avenue J in Chicago’s East Side neighborhood. He played with the Lions soccer club that traveled to Chicago Heights Saturday morning to play matches against the host team, Chicago Heights United Soccer.
“We know a lot of the Lions players because we’ve played them before,” said Teresa Ayala, who cofounded the United club several years ago with her husband, Santiago Ayala. They both coach teams, schedule matches and organize events.
Ayala said she saw a 2020 Kia Soul strike Gio on Dixie Highway just before 11 a.m. Saturday.
“It was terrible,” she said. “He was with a friend. They were by the blue pole right there. They were kicking the ball and I saw it go into the street. I told them not to go into the street.”
Vehicles were parked along Dixie Highway, as they usually were during matches, she said. Gio ran out from between parked cars and was struck, she said.
Gio was initially taken to a hospital, then airlifted to Stroger Hospital in Chicago, where he died Sunday, according to the Cook County medical examiner.
The driver of the Kia was taken to Advocate South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest for medical treatment, police said. No charges were filed against the driver, police said Monday.
Many children from the Lions and United soccer clubs were among the hundreds of mourners Tuesday. The Rev. Gary Graf of St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church in Chicago Heights asked children to gather closest in a circle around Gio’s parents and older brother. Gio, who would have turned 8 in November, is now an angel, Graf told mourners.
“Today, in spite of your incredible pain, having lost someone who was so full of life and so full of cheer and energy and youth, he now looks down upon all of you,” Graf said.
Graf seemed to choose words that would comfort children who might be traumatized by witnessing Saturday’s tragedy and its aftermath.
“When everything possibly we could do to save his life, nothing more could be done, that’s when God takes over,” Graf said.
Graf’s words appeared to comfort mourners and help them come to terms with a senseless tragedy.
“Nothing in life that happens can change God’s plan,” Graf said. “No tragedy, no accidents, no violence, nothing can change God’s plan. God’s plan is that all of us one day go home. He went home far too soon and not the way any of us would have wanted, but he’s home.”
Graf said a little girl about Gio’s age once told him that no one knows what heaven is like because it’s the most beautiful surprise God has made for us.
“It’s like a movie we want to watch but you don’t want anyone to tell you what the movie is about because you want to see it for yourself,” Graf said. “That’s what heaven is like, this little girl told me.”
I wondered if perhaps some good could come from the tragic loss, whether some measures might be pursued to improve safety or increase recreational opportunities for children in Chicago Heights.
A fence along Dixie Highway might prevent another tragedy by keeping soccer balls out of the street and removing the possibility of children chasing after them.
“The speed limit here is 40 miles an hour,” Ayala said.
Dixie Highway appeared to be recently repaved and repainted with lane markers on new blacktop. Police blocked a stretch of road near the high school for Tuesday’s vigil.
Perhaps a transportation safety consultant could examine the possibility of lowering the speed limit, installing additional signs or restricting parking along the highway. It feels appropriate for the community to consider whether any steps could be taken to prevent another tragic loss of a child.
Ayala said the United organization has played soccer at Bloom for the past four years. About 75 children ages 15 and younger participate in the organization year round, she said.
“There are no other soccer fields in Chicago Heights,” Ayala said. “These are the only fields.”
Chicago Heights Mayor David Gonzalez provided a statement in response to an inquiry. Gonzalez said the tragic death was a painful loss and he offered his condolences to the Leon family.
“Bloom High School, whose capable leadership I respect, is best equipped to decide whether security fencing or other safety measures, in coordination with soccer league officials, are needed on school property,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez’s statement contradicted what Ayala said about the availability of soccer fields in Chicago Heights.
“Between Bloom High School, the park district and the private sector, ample fields are available in Chicago Heights to the soccer league for practice,” Gonzalez said.
Bloom High School District 206 Superintendent Lenell Navarre provided a statement Wednesday in response to an inquiry.
“We are truly saddened by this tragic loss,” he said. “Our hearts go out to the family and friends impacted. While this was not a District 206 event, we are a community coming together to mourn and to be available to the family. The district continues to review policies and procedures regarding facility usage.”
Ted Slowik is a columnist for the Daily Southtown.
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