Business & Tech

Community Helps Salon Exceed Fundraising Goal For Gabby Drozdz Fund

Couture 360 salon has raised more than $2,250 for the Remembering Gabby Drozdz Fund through the sale of purple hair extensions.

There must be a lot of purple hair around Lake Zurich today.

owner Rose DePaola said the salon sold all of its purple hair extensions — 100 of them — within 12 hours, meeting the goal of raising $1,500 for the Remembering Gabby Drozdz Fund.

The salon started selling the purple hair extensions — Gabby's favorite color — Thursday morning. DePaola said she put in an emergency order for more extensions, which arrived late Friday morning. Another 50 extensions were sold at $15 apiece Friday, raising another $750 for the Remembering Gabby Drozdz Fund.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

"I am very proud to say that I live and work in Lake Zurich," said DePaola. "We will continue to provide the extensions for as long as they are being requested."

Gabriella "Gabby" Drozdz was killed in a hit-and-run July 22. The accident occurred just before 9:15 p.m. as Drozdz and her friends, Rosie and Vanessa Fitts, also of Lake Zurich, were walking to Alpine Fest. The teens were walking along Church Street near Jamie Lane when they were struck. Drozdz died of her injuries shortly after being transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.

Rosie, 16, and Vanessa, 18, were taken to Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington with injuries not considered life threatening and later were released.

The Remembering Gabby Drozdz Fund was established at Chase Bank. Here are the ways you can donate:

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

  • The Lake Zurich Chase Bank at Route 12 and Cuba Road, along with other Chase Bank locations in the area, will accept donations.
  • Donations also can be mailed to: Chase Bank: Remembering Gabby Drozdz Fund, Attn: Andrea Kennedy, 1289 S. Rand Road, Lake Zurich, IL 60047


Police are still looking for information about the vehicle that hit Gabby and her friends. Cmdr. Kevin Finlon described the vehicle as a two-tone blue van with a lighter accent color, possibly silver or gray. Finlon added that the vehicle sought is likely a GMC Safari or Chevrolet Astro Van with damage to the passenger-side turn signal light. Police released actual surveillance photos of a vehicle of interest last month.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Lake Zurich