Sources: Naperville teacher died trying to save friend; man charged
BY MARK KONKOL Writer at Large mkonkol@suntimes.com February 4, 2012 1:14PM
Bruce (right) and Jamie Wild, parents of Shaun Wild, receive hugs of condolences from students at North Central College during a memorial in Shaun's honor on Saturday evening on the campus. Shaun, an NCC graduate, died early Saturday morning following a stabbing at Frankie's Blue Room that left two others injured. | Jeff Cagle~For Sun-Times Media
Updated: March 6, 2012 8:21AM
Second-grade teacher Shaun Wild died trying to save a buddy on a Naperville nightclub dance floor.
The recent North Central College graduate was fatally stabbed while attempting to stop a man from attacking his former football teammate — two-year All-Conference defensive end William Hayes III, sources told the Chicago Sun-Times.
The sources said that a patron at Frankie’s Blue Room, 16 W. Chicago, had been taunting Hayes — a muscular, tattooed college senior whom everyone calls Willie — for wearing a tight shirt. Hayes was seen arguing with another man near the dance floor just before getting stabbed near his sternum. Wild, a punter on North Central’s 2010 football team, tried to stop the attack and was fatally stabbed in the upper abdomen by a weapon that may have pierced his heart, a source said.
Hayes remains hospitalized in fair condition and is expected to recover. He was alert and talking Saturday, North Central football team chaplain Gary Ireland said.
A third man, a bar bouncer, also was stabbed. The bar employee was treated for his injuries and later released, authorities said.
Naperville police arrested Daniel Olaska, 27, of Naperville, at the scene. Olaska was charged with first-degree murder, and two counts of attempted first-degree murder, according to a DuPage County state’s attorney spokesman. Olaska is scheduled to appear in bond court Sunday.
In the wee hours Saturday, hip-hop music filled Frankie’s Blue Room, where drinkers downed the night’s special — 24-ounce bottles of light beer for four bucks. The dance floor was dark and crowded with folks, including a group celebrating a young woman’s 21st birthday, a witness told the Sun-Times.
After the attacks, the dance floor was “totally covered in blood,” the witness said. Wild was on the ground “totally unconscious, with his arms completely limp and his eyes rolled into the back of his head.” A trail of blood led to a booth where people tended to Hayes, who was crying. Someone held a flashlight, while others lifted Hayes’ shirt and applied pressure to the stab wound.
“It was chaos,” the witness said. “Blood was everywhere.”
Wild, 24, a resident of Lisle who is a native of Brown Deer, Wis., near Milwaukee, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education from North Central in December and started teaching at Spring Brook Elementary School in Naperville this year.
“I’m excited to be in this field at a time when many recognize the importance of a male influence in the classroom,” Wild was quoted as saying on the North Central College website. “When I was in grade school, I wasn’t the best student. But a couple of male teachers influenced me for good at a critical time, and I want to do the same for others.”
At North Central, Wild served as president of the Student Leaders Association of Teacher Educators.
Maureen Kincaide, chairwoman of North Central’s Education Department, said Wild was eager to take on the challenge of teaching.
“He said, ‘I can’t wait to have these kids. There will be so many exciting things we can do,’” Kincaide remembered.
He was also a member of the student-athlete honor society and football team.
“Shaun was an incredible leader of students. He was kind of the big brother for students here, particularly guys on the football team,” Ireland said. “You would be hard-pressed to find anybody to say anything but glowing things about Shaun.”
Hundreds, including Wild’s parents, brother and sister, attended a vigil Saturday night at the college.
“No matter what we come up with, it’s not going to make sense,” said Manny Juarez, a receiver on the college’s football team.
Hayes, 22, of Lemont, was a football team captain last season and is currently finishing his degree in physical education, school officials said.
Earlier, at the campus dining hall Saturday, many North Central students were in tears.
“There’s a general kind of numbness on campus. Students are in shock,” Ireland said. “They are not ones to get in brawls or be troublemakers. These are two people you can’t believe this happened to.”
Contributing: Stephanie Lulay
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