Rochelle couple leaves behind 2 young sons after fatal I-88 crash in DeKalb County

The community is rallying around two young boys whose parents, a married Rochelle couple, were killed in a multiple-vehicle crash on Interstate 88 in DeKalb County earlier this week.

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up online to help raise funds for the sons of Bryan “Soupy” Campbell and Asheri Campbell, who were pronounced dead after the five-vehicle pileup Tuesday evening. The couple was identified by loved ones Thursday.

Online tributes poured in Thursday on social media, heralding the couple as loving and devoted parents. Bryan Campbell was remembered as a hard worker, fundraiser organizers said.

“He was a loving father and husband, a loyal friend and a big personality,” according to the GoFundMe page. “He worked multiple jobs in order to provide for his family and fund their adventures. Soupy loved to take trips, bowl, play board games, and enjoy good food and drink. All the better if he could share it with his friends and family.”

[ Rochelle couple killed, others injured in 5-car pileup on I-88 in DeKalb County ]

Loved ones called Asheri Campbell a devoted wife and mother who worked in tandem with her husband.

“She was the peacemaker, the smoother of his rough edges. She was passionate about her family. She loved watching the boys grow and did what it took to see them thrive,” according to the fundraiser page. “She was fiercely protective of their well-being and kept a close eye on them. She loved the Chicago Cubs, travel and music. She had a ready smile and a sweet disposition that made her all the easier to love.”

Family friend Nicholas Haws organized the GoFundMe with the family’s blessing, he said in a social media post. Funds raised will go to help pay for the late couple’s final expenses and to help raise the children, he wrote on the fundraiser’s page.

Holcomb Bank, 233 E. Route 38, Rochelle, also has set up a memorial fund for loved ones to contribute, according to the bank’s Facebook page. Those wishing to contribute to the Bryan and Asheri Campbell Memorial Fund are welcome to make checks payable to the bank in the name of the memorial.

“All donations will go to the direct benefit of the family. Our hearts go out to the Campbell family during this most difficult time,” bank officials wrote.

The couple was killed when a box truck crashed into another car, prompting a chain reaction, Illinois State Police said. The multiple-vehicle crash was reported at 5:19 p.m. Tuesday on eastbound I-88, east of Hinckley Road near mile marker No. 99 in Cortland. Eastbound lanes were closed for multiple hours Tuesday as surrounding agencies responded. Occupants from every vehicle reported injuries except the box truck driver, state police said.

Nicole Wright of Aurora worked with Asheri Campbell for about three years as colleagues at Lehan Drugs pharmacy in DeKalb. Wright said she found out about the Campbells’ deaths from a friend Wednesday. She herself had driven on that stretch of I-88 just hours before the crash Tuesday.

Asheri’s two young boys were “her everything,” Wright said. The late mother recently had gotten a work-from-home job, and was excited at the prospect of spending more time with her sons, Wright said.

Kindness is what comes to mind when she thinks of Asheri, Wright said, along with Starbucks and the Cubs, she said with an emotional laugh. Wright said she planned to get a Starbucks drink in Asheri’s honor Thursday night.

“She always wanted to be involved and spend time with people. If we were meeting for dinner, she was the first one to say she was in,” Wright said of Asheri. “Just the kindness she showed to everybody – if we all treated everyone that way, what a different world we would be in.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.