Worker injured in forklift accident in Elk Grove remains hospitalized

A 60-year-old Chicago man remained hospitalized Sunday after being seriously injured when was trapped underneath a forklift Saturday morning in an Elk Grove Village industrial park.

The man, who fire officials said works at Little Lady Foods on the 2400 block of Pratt Boulevard, had stepped outside of an office door near a loading dock when the forklift rolled over the lower part of his body.

The forklift was headed into a large delivery truck before the man was struck, Elk Grove Village Battalion Chief Mark Sellers said. The driver, another employee of the frozen food manufacturer, was not injured, Sellers said.

Other co-workers unsuccessfully tried to free the man who was lying on his back - his two legs, from his knees to his feet, trapped underneath the forklift.

Paramedics were called about 8:20 a.m. Roughly four minutes later, a three-man crew, two paramedics and an EMT, arrived and used hi-lift jacks and cribbing, or blocks of wood, to raise the forklift about 3 inches and slide the man out from underneath, Sellers said. It took about five to six minutes to rescue him.

He was taken to St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates. His injuries aren't believed to be life threatening, but "they are life-altering," Sellers said.

"Little Lady Foods responded quickly to an incident that occurred Saturday morning," Carol Dunning, director of human resources for Little Lady Foods, said in an email Sunday. "Our investigation into the matter is ongoing. Our employee is in the hospital and being cared for. Our thoughts are with him and his family."

Elk Grove Village police said they are investigating but wouldn't comment further.