State trooper's quick thinking saves woman pinned between vehicles

Illinois State Police say the quick thinking of a trooper helped save the life of a Palatine woman who got pinned between two vehicles Tuesday evening after a crash on Route 53.

State police said the rescue occurred just before 6 p.m. when the trooper from Elgin-based District 2 was at the scene of the crash on southbound Route 53, south of Palatine Road in Palatine.

The 2003 Ford involved in the crash was being towed from the scene when a second car, a Hyundai, arrived to pick up the Ford's driver, police said. A passenger in the second car, a 47-year-old Palatine woman, stepped out of the vehicle and stood between it and the trooper's patrol vehicle.

Some time later, a 2010 Jeep driven by a 21-year-old Bartlett man veered onto the shoulder and slammed into the rear of the Hyundai, pushing it into the state police car and pinning the woman between the vehicles, according to police.

State police said that because of damage to his patrol car, the trooper could not open its trunk to retrieve his first aid bag. Instead, he quickly took his gun belt off and used his inner belt as a tourniquet to control the heavy bleeding from the Palatine woman's leg, police said.

The trooper remained with the woman, compressing the tourniquet until paramedics arrived on scene and took her to a hospital, where she is being treated.

State police did not immediately release details on the woman's condition or information about possible charges against any of the drivers involved.