Elgin police look for witnesses in crash that cost man his leg

Police are looking for witnesses to a crash that caused an Elgin man to lose a leg just two days after he achieved his dream of buying a motorcycle.

Eduardo "Eddie" Ramirez, 35, was injured about 5:10 p.m. Sunday afternoon in the crash at Randall Road just north of Weld Road, near Route 20. His left leg was amputated below the knee, and a titanium rod had to be inserted in his right leg, his wife Alicia Ramirez said.

Eddie Ramirez was northbound when a black pickup truck made a U-turn in front of him, causing him to veer suddenly and lose control of his motorcycle, Alicia said. It's unclear if the motorcycle and the truck made contact, she said.

"I'm thankful he's alive. I'm thankful he's going to be well," she said through tears. "I just want to know what happened."

Miriam Palomar of Elgin said she was among those who rushed to help as Eddie Ramirez lay on the ground, bleeding profusely.

"He kept telling us that it was a black truck that hit him," she said. "I did see a black truck pull back into the lane (after having pulled over) and driving off."

Cmdr. Al Young said police have no cameras at that intersection, and are looking for witnesses and any area video footage available.

The Kane County Department of Transportation has a camera at that intersection, but it doesn't record, it only transmits live images for traffic monitoring, said traffic operations engineer Stephen Zulkowski.

Eddie Ramirez's brother, Jose Ramirez, also of Elgin, has been posting about the crash on Facebook, asking witnesses to come forward. "Where is the humanity? You can't stop and pull over when you see somebody hurt?" he said.

Jose Ramirez said he's had a hard time getting answers from police, but Young said the investigation is still active. The officers who arrived at the scene before the ambulance likely helped save Eddie Ramirez's life by applying a tourniquet, Young added.

Eddie recently started a job working the night shift as a fork lift operator in Carol Stream, Alicia Ramirez said. The couple have two sons, Aden, almost 8 months, and Jace, 2.

Alicia Ramirez works part-time as an orthodontist assistant in West Dundee. Her office manager started a GoFundMe effort to help the family that had raised nearly $5,400 by Friday afternoon.

"I'm so thankful, because I don't know what I would do without that," she said.