Driver killed after SUV crashes into Hegewisch home

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The driver of an SUV was killed when it crashed through a wall of a house in Chicago's Hegewisch neighborhood.

PHOTOS: Car crashes into Hegewisch home

Walid Haddad, 34, crashed into the living room of a home in the 12800-block of South Muskegon around 12 p.m. Wednesday. His loved ones reflected Wednesday night on how he loved music and his family.

"It's a huge loss for our family," said Samantha Webb, victim's cousin. "Anything he could do for you, he would. If you ever needed him to be there, he was just a great person."

It's unclear why Haddad crashed into the Hegewisch home. Chicago firefighter and paramedic Bob Opiola was on his couch when the SUV crashed into his home.

"I was sitting in my living room, just getting ready to go out for a jog," said Bob Opiola, Chicago firefighter and paramedic.

Opiola immediately helped Haddad.

"I did CPR and stuff, and told the people at the school to get a defibrillator. And by the time they came back, Fire Engine 97 came on the scene," Opiola said.

It happened across the street from Grissom Elementary, where some saw Opiola help the unconscious driver.

"He was able to get him out of the van. He immediately started working on him. His instincts just totally kicked in and he did what he was trained to do," said Stephanie Barlog, a witness.

Barlog was dropping her child off at the school across the street from the house, when she says she heard a noise that sounded like an explosion and saw lots of dust.

But Opiola is thinking about the driver's family.

"If we could keep his family in our thoughts and prayers," Opiola said.

Opiola says he's grateful his two young children were at school at the time and that no school kids across the street were injured.