Friends Describe Max Dobner As Bright, Caring Person

Max Dobner never hesitated to care for those around him.

"He was the kind of person to walk into a room and ask, 'What can I do to help?'" said Susan Carraher, a close family friend of the Dobners.

Dobner, 19, died Tuesday after his Chrysler Cirrus into a home in Batavia Township, east of the Route 31 and Mooseheart Road intersection. or was injured.

Dobner's loved ones are waiting for answers like everyone else affected by the crash. They do not know where Dobner was coming from or where he was headed to on Tuesday.

Friends and family are not sure why the accident happened. What they do know was that Dobner, an Aurora resident, was a bright, mature student who wanted to make a difference.

"He was a wonderful, caring, loving boy," Carraher said on Wednesday. He was the youngest of mother Karen Dobner's three sons.

Aurora resident Nick Morrissette said Dobner never had a bad thing to say.

"Max (you) were the nice person I've ever met ... I'm so glad you were my friend you will be forever missed," Morrissette wrote Tuesday night on Facebook.

Dobner had plans to become a psychologist or psychiatrist. It was in his nature to help people, Carraher said. She has known Max since he was about seven or eight years old.

Dobner was trying to pin down a specific course of study. In 2010 he graduated from West Aurora High School. Last fall he began his freshman year of college at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He later transferred to Waubonsee Community College nearby. 

Carraher said Dobner also worked as a manager at a Jimmy John's restaurant in the area.

"At his birthday party we were talking to (Dobner) about going to medical school," Carraher said.

The birthday party took place at his mother Karen's home in Aurora. Dobner was very close to his mother, brothers and grandparents, Carraher said. He was an avid skier and snowboarder with the oldest brother, Justin.

Dobner was comfortable around everyone, whether they were older or younger than him. He was serious and mature for his age.

"His mother also said about him that he’s an old soul," Carraher said. "He’s just one of those kids." 

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