Tom Matovina Dies In Auto Accident (Posted 5-29-09)

The Times interviewed his wife, who survived the crash, in the following May 26 article.Tom's obituary with a link to the funeral home site follows the article.

DYER | Beverly Matovina said Monday her husband told her he wasn't feeling well just before their vehicle crashed on a Briar Ridge street Sunday afternoon. Along with the couple, Matovina's mother was in the SUV.
Matovina's mother, Irene Barron, 87, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident in the 1200 block of Royal Dublin Drive, and Beverly Matovina's husband, Thomas Matovina, 62, was pronounced dead a short while later at St. Margaret Mercy Healthcare Centers in Dyer, according to information from the Lake County coroner's office.

Beverly Matovina said Monday she suffered cuts and bruises in the crash. She was treated and released from the hospital. She said she and her mother were passengers in the vehicle, with her husband driving, when the crash occurred in the Briar Ridge gated community in Dyer, where the Matovinas and Irene Barron lived. The three were going out for dinner, something they did most Sundays, Beverly Matovina said.

"We picked up mother at 3:30 (p.m.), and about a block and a half from the house my husband said, 'I don't feel very well,'" Beverly Matovina said.
Her husband then appeared to lose consciousness, Beverly Matovina said.
An investigation into the accident by the Lake County Sheriff's Department is in the early stages, Sheriff's Department reconstructionist Brad Bosse said.
The Matovinas and Barron all were in the same vehicle, which struck a parked vehicle before coming to a stop, Bosse said.

Autopsies are scheduled for both Thomas Matovina and his mother-in-law as part of the investigation, Bosse said.
The Sheriff's Department routinely handles investigations involving fatalities in area municipalities because its officers are specially trained and equipped for the work, Bosse said.

Beverly Matovina said her mother owned Ted Barron Furniture in Lynwood, Ill., and still worked there every day.
The furniture store originally was in Chicago and has been in the family for 58 years, she said. Thomas Matovina worked part-time at the furniture store and also sold heavy equipment, Beverly Matovina said. Both her husband and her mother were "very generous, good-hearted" people, she said.
"They would do anything for anybody," she said.