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Chicago-area Car Crash Kills 2 West Lafayette Children

August 24, 2005

Two West Lafayette children were killed in a fiery, two-vehicle crash in a Chicago suburb on Sunday, July 31.

Claire Hockerman, 14, and her 5-year-old brother, Nathan, were pronounced dead at 6:36 p.m. Sunday at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Melrose Park, Illinois, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Greg and Sherry Hockerman and their children, Claire, Nathan and 11-year-old Paul were driving to West Lafayette from O'Hare airport on Sunday afternoon.

When Greg Hockerman, an associate professor of medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology at Purdue University, was driving through an intersection, a pickup truck ran a red light and struck the family minivan.

Greg, Sherry and Paul Hockerman escaped the van when it caught fire. They were severely injured and transported to Loyola hospital.

The driver of the pickup, Ralph Pollock,47, of Schaumburg, Illinois, was arrested on suspicion of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and disobeying a traffic control device.

Franklin Park police chief Randy Peterson said the charges could be enhanced to reckless homicide.