Falling sign injures Naperville couple

A Naperville couple were seriously injured when a giant set of McDonald's arches toppled over and crushed their sport utility vehicle Wednesday in Eastern Arizona.

Police said Carolyn and Russell Janke were sitting in the Chevy Trailblazer when winds in excess of 55 mph apparently blew over the arches. The mishap took place about 12:30 p.m. on the Navajo Nation reservation in Window Rock.

"The couple stopped to get something to eat and were parked in the parking lot and the sign just fell off," acting police chief Steven Nelson said Thursday. "It was a very windy day."

Nelson said Russell Janke had a large cut on his head but was alert and able to get himself out of the crushed vehicle. Carolyn Janke had to be extricated by firefighters and complained of pain in her head, neck, back and arms afterward.

The couple were taken to Fort Defiance Indian Hospital about 7 miles away, where Russell Janke was listed in stable condition Thursday, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Carolyn Janke was later flown to St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center about 60 miles away in Phoenix, where she was listed in critical condition.

Relatives of the couple could not immediately be reached for comment. Attempts to contact the McDonald's corporate office in Oak Brook after regular business hours were unsuccessful.

Nelson said he was told Jankes had just returned from Canyon de Chelly, a popular national park in Chinle, Ariz., about 65 miles north of Window Rock.

"The winds have been pretty bad here lately," he said. "We've had zero visibility sometimes in the last three weeks."