Tyler Koscinski and Mason Santiago first became friends in third grade.
From then on, their friendship never wavered.
"They were goofy together, fun together," Tyler Koscinski's mother, Kelly, told NBC Chicago. "They were with each other 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 truck-tractor semi-trailer were involved in a fatal crash, but no details surrounding what happened were released. The crash remained under investigation as of late Friday.
Koscinski was a graduate of Lincoln-Way West High School, where he played football and baseball. He had just celebrated his 20th birthday days before the crash.
Koscinski was a fun-loving person who had an infectious smile, his parents said in an interview with NBC Chicago.
"[He] was just a joy to be around," his mother said.
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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 the duo were traveling home from Saint Xavier at the time of the crash.
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In a statement, Santiago's mother told NBC Chicago, the young athletes were "almost attached at the hip."
Koscinski's family shared similar comments, saying the two were "pretty inseparable."
"It’s made it more tragic that we lost both of them," Kelly Koscinski said.
Relatives have established the Tyler Koscinski Memorial Foundation, which will provide scholarships and support for young athletes in the Lincoln-Way area, to ensure "Tyler’s spirit continues to drive excellence and opportunity in the world of sports."
"We need to keep his memory alive. And that’s his legacy that’s his purpose," Kelly Koscinski said, referring to the foundation.
The complete statement provided by Santiago's mother to NBC Chicago can be found below:
It's with great sympathy for Tyler and his family that we share Mason's story. Mason and Tyler were best friends, always being their goofy and silly selves. They went everywhere together and did everything together, if Tyler was there, you know Mason was too, they were almost attached at the hip. Mason lived with great passion and love for everyone that he came across.
The effort and intensity which he went about executing his assignment on the football field was the way in which he went about touching and lifting others up. There was no task to big when it came to Mason and it's a measure of the support from his coaches, family and friends that supported him and that have continued to support us now. We are beyond grateful for everyone that has reach out and shown their supports during this time.
