Hampshire driver cited in fire truck crash

A 74-year-old Hampshire man was cited for illegally parking his pickup truck in the roadway, which police say caused a Hampshire fire truck to crash into a utility pole as it attempted to avoid hitting it.

A pair of Hampshire firefighters were injured in the Sunday afternoon crash.

Police said Jeffery Becker, 21, of Hampshire, was driving a 1986 Mack pumper east on Kelly Road during a training exercise. Police say Becker crested a hill about a mile east of Harmony Road and drove onto the right shoulder to avoid a Ford truck that was pulled over in the westbound lane. The fire truck then struck a utility pole.

The driver of the pickup truck, John R. Hanson, was in the parked vehicle and had stopped to talk to neighbors, Kane County Lt. Pat Gengler said. He was not injured in the crash that occurred about 12:15 p.m., Sunday.

Becker was taken to Provena St. Joseph Hospital in Elgin with minor injuries. His passenger, 50-year-old Rick Heine of Hampshire, was extricated from the fire truck and was taken by Flight for Life helicopter to OSF St. Anthony Medical Center in Rockford for treatment of injuries that weren't considered life-threatening, police said.

The Kane County Sheriff's Office and Kane County Accident Reconstruction team are investigating the crash. Drugs and alcohol do not appear to have played a role in this crash.

The fire engine was not responding to a call and did not have its emergency lights and sirens activated, police said.