GLENVIEW, Ill. – A young woman from the Northwest suburbs was one of two people killed in a hit-and-run crash in Urbana last week.

The woman’s family said she was in town visiting friends at the University of Illinois.

Katie Abraham, 20, and so much ahead of her.

“Katie was such a personality. She was so witty, so clever,” her father Joe Abraham said. “It’s like it’s not real. It’s devastating; it’s not anything you expect or prepare for.”

Joe and Katie’s stepmother Michelle said they’ve been robbed of the light she brought them, her mother, siblings and families.

“She just brightened every room. This world will be a worse place without her,” Joe said.

Authorities said in the early hours of Sunday morning, Katie was one of two passengers killed in a crash. The vehicle she was in was rear-ended at full force while stopped at a traffic light.

“Our understanding is he was an illegal immigrant and, as Joe mentioned, he fled on foot after the accident,” Michelle said.

U.S. Marshals tracked down the suspect, identified as 29-year-old Julio Cucul Bol, a citizen of Guatemala in Texas. They said he was making his way to the southern border.

Investigators later learned he was living in the United States under a false alias as a Mexican National. Due to the false identity, it’s unclear if he had been previously deported.

Nevertheless, he now faces a string of charges related to the deadly crash, including reckless homicide.

“We just want to ask anyone who may have seen the defendant Saturday night or early Sunday morning if they have any tips on where he was or what he was doing, it would really help the case. Please come forward,” Michelle said.

For now, their focus is getting justice for Katie.

“Justice to me would be the maximum in prison. Ideally I’d like to see him in prison, the maximum the law has on the books and then, ultimately once that’s served, not be in this country anymore,” Joe said.

Katie’s family is currently in the process of making funeral arrangements. They told WGN News they are grateful for the efforts of local and federal authorities that were able to catch up to the suspect.