Bystanders Help Lift SUV Off Trapped Man

Man suffered severe trauma, taken to hospital in critical condition

A group of men in the Western suburbs are being hailed as heroes for lifting an SUV off a couple trapped underneath.
 
At around 8:15 Monday night, an SUV collided with a Jewel-Osco semi truck in the intersection of Main Street and Roosevelt Road in Lombard, causing the SUV to roll over.

Arriving emergency crews found the driver still trapped in the vehicle, a female passenger lying on the parkway and a man trapped under the SUV.

Crews began working to save the injured individuals but didn’t have quite enough oomph to rescue the trapped man.  But bystanders rushed to their side and helped lift the vehicle off him.

"They rocked the vehicle back and forth and pushed it off the victim's leg," said Lombard Fire Department Battalion Chief Ron Rakosnik.

He suffered severe trauma to his left leg, according to officials, but it could have been worse.

"They may have saved his life," Rakosnik said. "They're heroes."

Rescue workers then turned their attention to the man trapped in the vehicle and after about 20 minutes managed to take him out of the vehicle.

All three individuals were taken to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital, where the female passenger later died.  The driver of the SUV and the other passenger remained in the hospital.

The driver of the Jewel-Osco truck was uninjured.
 

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