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Family questions response to Elgin man who died

The family of a 39-year-old Elgin man who died Friday night is raising concerns about how emergency responders handled his care when a call for medical help came in.

Ramon Vargas, 39, died Friday evening, authorities said. Citing a preliminary autopsy report from the Kane County coroner's office, Elgin police Cmdr. Glenn Theriault said Vargas appears to have died of natural causes.

Some of Vargas' family members, however, said they are concerned those who responded to the call for help might have handled Vargas roughly, including putting him in handcuffs.

Vargas' cousin Mari Moreno of Elgin, who lives a couple of blocks away from Vargas' home on Liberty Street, said his three daughters and two stepchildren were waiting in his truck for Vargas to drive them somewhere about 7:15 p.m. Friday when they noticed he was taking a long time to come outside.

One of his daughters went inside to check on him and found Vargas, who has a history of heart problems and diabetes, in distress, Moreno said. His daughter then called 911.

Moreno said she went to Vargas' house when she saw emergency vehicles parked outside, and by the time she arrived, he was being wheeled out unconscious on a stretcher.

Later at Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin, Moreno said Vargas' mother and siblings noticed bruising on his wrists when they were allowed to see his body.

"They noticed that he had bruising like cuff marks," Moreno said.

Theriault said the preliminary autopsy report did show marks on Vargas' wrists from handcuffs, but that it is not unusual when handcuffs are used to help restrain a patient who is combative or difficult to hold down. It's not so much that the patient is attacking paramedics, Theriault said, but that people who are in medical distress often flail around.

Vargas' cousin and his sister-in-law, Jamie Vargas of South Elgin, said they were told he became "combative" once emergency responders arrived. But they questioned whether he should have been handcuffed.

"I think they should have just medically taken care of him better," Jamie Vargas said.

Because the preliminary autopsy shows Vargas died of natural causes, Theriault said police are handling the case as "a standard death investigation of a 39-year-old with health issues."

The determination of Vargas' cause of death is preliminary because toxicology test results that are used to determine whether drugs or alcohol played a role in a person's death are not yet available, Theriault said.

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