Des Plaines man critical after tree falls on van

A Des Plaines man is in critical condition after a tree fell on the Chevrolet van he was driving Wednesday morning on Chicago's Far Northwest Side.

Jerzy Szczepanek, 33, of the 300 block of Oak Street, was traveling southbound on Cumberland Avenue near Addison Street at around 7:18 a.m. when a tree from a nearby forest preserve area along that stretch fell on top of the vehicle, authorities said.

It took firefighters about an hour to remove the tree and pull Szczepanek from the vehicle whose roof was smashed in. He was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge in critical condition, a Chicago police spokesman said.

Chicago Police's Major Accidents Unit is handling the investigation.

Szczepanek's wife is reportedly at his hospital bedside.

Cook County Forest Preserve District spokesman Steve Mayberry said the agency tries to avoid such accidents by being proactive.

"We assess the condition of the tree, we determine if it is a hazard, then take corrective action," Mayberry said. "That's if it's on our property. This (accident) will not change our procedures at all."

Mayberry said it's unclear whose jurisdiction the dead tree falls under.

"We're going to do an (internal) assessment of what happened here," he said. "There is some question right now, given the right-of-way issue, as to whether the tree belongs to the Forest Preserve District of Cook County."

The van Szczepanek was driving bore a logo for John's and Les Flooring, listing a Chicago number. A company official could not be reached for comment.

"I did talk to one person who did see it happen," David Ullrich told ABC 7 Chicago shortly after the accident occurred. "He said it happened in slow motion. The tree just fell right down in front of him."

Cumberland was temporarily blocked in both directions between Addison and Irving Park Road during the morning commute.