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Witness praised for possibly saving man's life in West Dundee crash

A quick-thinking Jiffy Lube employee might have saved the life of a Pingree Grove man who suffered a severe leg injury after a crash Friday morning in West Dundee.

Zeljko Ivelic, 33, of 500 block of Lancaster Drive, Pingree Grove, was injured in a crash that took place about 8:01 a.m. at the intersection of Route 31 and 72 near Spring Hill Mall, West Dundee Sgt. Steve Fletter said.

Ivelic was driving a 2009 Honda motorcycle east on Route 72 when he collided with a Chrysler Sebring driven by Ashley Rood, 28, of Marlboro Circle, Carpentersville. Rood was driving west on Route 72 and making a left turn onto southbound Route 31, Fletter said.

Jiffy Lube technician Mackenzy Krogh, 22, of Elgin said he was mopping the bay area when he heard the crash, looked up and saw the motorcycle driver “fly through the air and hit the floor.”

While Jiffy Lube manager Pat Prochazk called 911, Krogh ran out to attend to the Ivelic.

Ivelic, who was conscious, had a serious injury to his left leg, right below the knee, Krogh said.

“What I knew I needed to do was stop the bleeding,” he said. “I asked another guy (nearby) for a belt, put it on his leg and tightened it up.”

Another witness helped by talking to Ivelic and keeping him calm, Krogh said.

Once Ivelic was taken to the hospital, Krogh said, Krogh decided to take a personal day off work. “I'm still a bit shaken up,” he said.

Ivelic was in fair condition at Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin Friday afternoon, spokeswoman Tonya Lucchetti-Hudson said.

Rood was treated and released from a hospital, Fletter said.

No tickets have been issued while the accident is under investigation, he said. Parts of the intersection were closed to traffic until about 11 a.m.

“We're still piecing all that together,” Fletter said. “We don't have a ton of witnesses. Given the time of day, you'd think we'd have more.”

Fletter, the second police officer on the scene, praised Krogh's actions.

“He might have saved that kid's life,” Fletter said. “I think that was very heads-up of Mackenzy. It was good of him to take action. That was quite helpful.”

Officers from Elgin, Sleepy Hollow and East Dundee police departments also responded to the call.

Both Krogh and Prochazk said it seems like there have been more accidents since the reconstruction of the intersection — including building medians — was completed a month ago.

Accident data don't seem to support that, according to Kevin Burke, supervisor of administrative services for the West Dundee Police Department.

Friday's was the fourth accident since the intersection fully reopened June 19, and the second one involving injuries, Burke said.

Construction started in summer 2013. Data for 2012 show there were 38 accidents at the intersection, or an average of 3.16 per month, ranging from no accidents in April 2012 to eight accidents in September 2012.

“Until you get another year of accident data with the completion (of construction) you really wouldn't be able to look and compare the two,” Burke said.

• Daily Herald staff photographer Rick West contributed to this story.

  Police investigate the scene of a car and motorcycle crash Friday morning at the intersection of routes 72 and 31 in West Dundee. Rick West/rwest@dailyherald.com
  Jiffy Lube technician Mackenzy Krogh, 22, of Elgin rushed to aid a motorcycle driver who was involved in a crash Friday in West Dundee. Rick West/rwest@dailyherald.com
  Jiffy Lube technician Mackenzy Krogh said the driver of a motorcycle was hurled about 15 to 20 feet after his motorcycle collided with a Chrysler Sebring Friday at routes 72 and 31 in West Dundee. Rick West/rwest@dailyherald.com
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