Tow truck driver in critical condition after getting trapped under car

A tow truck driver was in critical condition Monday from injuries he suffered after becoming trapped under a vehicle being towed in Hawthorn Woods, authorities said.

Police Chief Jennifer Paulus said officers at 5:19 p.m. Sunday responded to a 911 call about the accident on Gilmer Road north of Schwerman Road.

She said officers found the unresponsive man trapped on the ground under the front driver's side tire of a vehicle that was being towed in a wheel-lift position, with the rear wheels off the ground.

Police officers moved the vehicle off the 38-year-old Rockford man and began lifesaving efforts until Countryside Fire Protection District paramedics arrived. He was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.

Investigators believe the man was the tow truck's driver, Paulus said. A 2006 Cadillac was hooked to the truck when, for unexplained reasons, the man pulled to the side of Gilmer and got out while leaving the transmission in drive.

Paulus said the truck moved forward with the Cadillac and trapped the man under a front tire. She said a Hawthorn Woods resident passing by the scene heard the man crying for help and called 911.

Investigators from Hawthorn Woods police and the Lake County Major Crash Assistance Team are working the case.