It was like any other Friday night as the Gutiérrez household took a quick trip to get dinner.
But at about 9 p.m. that April 5, just three blocks from their Bellwood home, a car crashed into them in a hit-and-run.
María René Gutiérrez Santos, 16, a student at Proviso West, was killed.
A smart, studious ‘practical joker’
As a little girl growing up Guatemala, María René had an infectious personality, Oscar Gutiérrez, her father said.
“She was very respectful, very studious but she was also a goofball, a practical joker,” recalled her father. “She was also very smart.”
Oscar Gutiérrez said she was a “daddy’s girl,” always wanting to tag along wherever he went.
María René also loved volunteering in her community, donating both her time and her belongings to others in need.
When the 2018 Volcán de Fuego eruption occurred in Guatemala, she donated most of her toys to children who had been impacted by the eruption.
“She also donated her clothes,” Oscar Gutiérrez said. “She wanted to help others.”
This wasn’t the first time the family had to say a hard goodbye to a daughter and a sister.
Katherin Gutiérrez, the oldest of Gutiérrez’s daughters, died in 2019 while they were still in Guatemala.
“We have always been close, but we grew closer when our oldest sister died,” said Marilyn Gutiérrez, 18. “She became a lot closer to us after that.”
As the “baby” of the family, María René was “spoiled,” said her sisters, but she always reciprocated with love and brought the family together with her silliness.
The sisters continued to be each other’s best friends, leaning on each other as they packed up their lives in Guatemala to pursue the American Dream.
That American Dream
The family arrived in Illinois in March 2022, after a few months’ stay in Mexico while they waited for their asylum to be approved.
The journey, as one might guess, was stressful for the family.
“She told me it was hard to leave behind family and friends,” said Amparo Gutiérrez, 19, María René’s sister.
But the sisters leaned on each other. And made it.
After a local family agreed to sponsor them, Oscar Gutiérrez, his wife Brenda Santos, 49, and their three daughters began to settle into their new home.
“We wanted to give them a better life, an opportunity at an education,” Oscar said. “It is different here. It’s a more developed country. There are more opportunities to become a professional.”
According to Oscar Gutiérrez, María René, while nervous about her new life in the United States, was also excited about what her future could hold.
“We were really looking forward to a better future here, as a family,” Amparo Gutiérrez said.
But it wasn’t easy.
Marilyn Gutiérrez said María René struggled learning English at first, but as she grew confident in the new language, she began to participate more in school clubs and activities, including dance. She also loved drawing, said Amparo.
Her dream, Marilyn added, was to be a lawyer.
That dream has long run deep in her family. Her dad was studying to be a lawyer when family obligations caused him to drop out of school. Her sister, Katherin Gutiérrez, had one year left in law school when she died. María René wanted to fulfill that dream.
Ana Sanchez, 16, met María René while at Proviso East and the two became close friends.
Ana, holding back tears, said María René always knew how to turn any hangout into the best time.
“She made everything fun,” Ana said. “Even if it was a normal day, a normal pool hangout, she made sure we all always had fun.”
The now
The Gutiérrez family is juggling grief while healing from their own with injuries.
Oscar Gutiérrez is recovering from jaw surgery. María René’s mom, Brenda Santos, remains hospitalized for her injuries that include broken bones and blood clots. She spent five days in the ICU after the accident.
Because of this, she did not immediately learn her daughter died.
“We once again saw the heartbreak and the pain of losing a daughter, losing a sister,” Amparo Gutiérrez said.
María René’s funeral was held Monday, April 29.
The Gutiérrez family said they are grateful to those by their sides, including Father Leandro Fossá of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Melrose Park, whose parish helped with finances, meals and transportation. A GoFundMe has been set up to help with funeral costs and medical bills.
“We left our country to follow the American Dream that we say exists,” Oscar Gutiérrez said. “We came, but we didn’t know we would suffer this loss … we didn’t know what the future held.”
“Like every immigrant, we say that we made it,” he added. ‘But, sadly, we lost our daughter.”