Kane County deputies, ComEd worker save man from burning car

Two Kane County sheriff's deputies and a ComEd worker ending a 16-hour shift are being credited with saving a driver from the wreckage of a burning car Tuesday night.

Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain said veteran Deputy Steven Turcios and recruit Deputy Ryan Reichardt - who has only been on the job about three months - were dispatched to the 6N900 block of Dunham Road near Lamplight Trail at 9:43 p.m. for a report of a single-vehicle crash on the outskirts of Wayne.

The driver was headed south on Dunham Road when the vehicle left the road and struck a utility pole before careening into a ditch and coming to rest on its roof, authorities said.

"When they arrived the car was overturned and on fire," Hain said. "They were able get the driver out and pull him to safety away from the vehicle."

ComEd spokesperson Jazmin Rangel said Mike Curtis, an overhead electrician specialist, had just finished up his shift and was heading home "when he saw a flash and drove toward it."

Curtis discovered the vehicle overturned in a ditch with power lines wrapped around it and immediately called in to his headquarters to request power be shut off to the lines, Rangel said. Shortly thereafter, the deputies arrived.

Curtis helped the deputies remove the driver, who was slipping in and out of consciousness, from the wreckage.

Fox River & Countryside Fire Protection District Fire Chief Bert Lancaster lauded the trio for their heroics.

"The quick actions of everyone on scene provided the ability to rescue the victim and extinguish the fire preventing any more harm to the victim," he said.

Hain said the 41-year-old South Elgin driver was transported to Delnor Hospital in Geneva, but was later transferred to Loyola Medical Center because of the severity of his injuries. The driver reportedly suffered from internal bleeding after the crash.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, but the sheriff's office said the driver has been charged with drunken driving.

Hain added that Reichardt is finishing up the last weeks of a three and a half month field training assignment with Turcios, and then has about nine months remaining on his one-year probationary period.

Turcios is a five-year veteran of the sheriff's office.

The sheriff said both deputies will receive lifesaving awards at an annual summertime ceremony the department stages.