Tyler Koscinski and Mason Santiago first became friends in third grade.
From then on, their friendship never wavered.
“They were funny together, they had fun together,” Tyler Koscinski’s mother, Kelly, told NBC Chicago. “They were together all the time.”
Koscinski, 20, of New Lenox and Mason Santiago, 19, of Joliet, were killed in a collision early Sunday morning on Interstate 80 between La Grange Road and Harlem Avenue in Tinley Park. Police said a Dodge Journey SUV and a tractor-trailer were involved in the fatal crash, but no details about what happened have been released. The crash remained under investigation Friday night.
Koscinski graduated from Lincoln-Way West High School, where he played football and baseball. He had just celebrated his 20th birthday a few days before the accident.
Koscinski was a fun person who had an infectious smile, his parents said in an interview with NBC Chicago.
“[He] “It was just a joy to be around him,” his mother said.
Santiago was also an athlete, graduating from Providence Catholic High School, where he played football. Santiago was just starting his sophomore year at Saint Xavier University, where he was a member of the football team.
Kelly Koscinski told the Chicago Tribune that the duo was driving home from St. Xavier’s when the crash happened.
In a statement, Santiago’s mother told NBC Chicago that the young athletes were “almost joined at the hip.”
Koscinski’s family shared similar comments, saying the two were “pretty much inseparable.”
“It’s even more tragic that we lost them both,” Kelly Koscinski said.
Tyler’s family has established the Tyler Koscinski Memorial Foundation, which will provide scholarships and support to young athletes in the Lincoln-Way area, to ensure that “Tyler’s spirit continues to foster excellence and opportunity in the world of sports.”
“We have to keep his memory alive. And that’s his legacy, that’s his goal,” Kelly Koscinski said, referring to the foundation.
The full statement provided by Santiago’s mother to NBC Chicago can be found below:
It is with great sympathy for Tyler and his family that we share Mason’s story. Mason and Tyler were the best of friends, always as crazy and silly as ever. They went everywhere together and did everything together. If Tyler was around, you knew Mason was around too, they were almost joined at the hip. Mason lived with great passion and love for everyone he met.
The effort and intensity with which he performed his duties on the football field was how he touched and uplifted others. Nothing was too difficult for Mason and this is a measure of the support of his coaches, family and friends who supported him and continue to support us today. We are beyond grateful to everyone who reached out and showed their support during this time.
