Elgin great-grandfather in hospital after fencing falls through his windshield
A beloved great-grandfather from Elgin is fighting for his life after he was hit by a piece of vinyl fence that fell off a truck on Interstate 90 in Ohio and through his windshield.
Jim Putman, 72, was driving his Jeep with his sister-in-law in the passenger seat and his 27-year-old granddaughter, Jamie Putman, of Crystal Lake in the back seat when the accident happened Monday night.
Putman suffered severe brain trauma and is in critical condition at a Cleveland hospital, said Sarah Chiodo, Jamie Putman's sister, also of Crystal Lake. The trio was en route to Boston, where Jamie was moving.
"It's pretty much a waiting game to see how he's going to pull through, or if he's going to pull through," Chiodo said.
Her sister and great-aunt suffered cuts and bruises from the windshield shattering, but - almost miraculously - walked away from the accident, Chiodo said.
When Putman slumped over the steering wheel after being struck, the great-aunt moved his body back and Jamie jumped into the front seat to steer the Jeep and take her grandfather's foot off the accelerator, Chiodo said. They came to a stop on the side of the road.
"The best I can describe it is a freak accident," Chiodo said, who last saw her grandpa Sunday at her 7-year-old daughter's birthday party. "It's mind-boggling to think that a day prior to the accident I was hugging him and talking to him and he was laughing."
Avon, Ohio, police spokesman Jim Drozdowski said detectives talked Friday to someone who might have video of the accident.
The truck driver is described as a white man in his 50s or 60s at the wheel of a white or off-white GMC or Chevrolet truck. He briefly stopped on I-90 about a mile after the accident to check his cargo and drove away, police said.
Anyone with information should call Avon police at (440) 934-1234.
Chiodo described her grandfather, a widower, as "an amazing man" whose life revolved around his two sons, six grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. He's been a constant presence at soccer games, school plays and church events, and loved taking his family to celebrate birthdays at Golden Corral restaurants, she said.
"He's always smiling, always happy. He's very lively, very positive," she said. "He loved helping his family. He loved being there for them."
Neighbor Laura Gielow DeBrocke described Putman as "a wonderful neighbor and family man."
"They always made you feel like family. My kids thought of them like another set of grandparents," she said. "Jim loves talking about his family and he is so proud of them all. You couldn't ask for a better friend or neighbor. Always watching out for each other. He has been through a lot and is a fighter. Praying for him to on keep fighting."
Putman retired from Namco in Wood Dale and has lived in Elgin more than 20 years. He'd completed the trip to and from Boston numerous times because Jamie went to college there, Chiodo said.