An off-duty firefighter/paramedic with the Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District died Thursday afternoon in a skid steer accident in Fox Lake.
The Fox Lake Police Department and Fox Lake Fire Protection District responded around 2:20 p.m. Thursday to Ben Watts Marina, 116 South Route 12.
Police said that a man, identified as Mark Amore, 46, was operating a skid steer in a parking lot near the marina. The vehicle drove off the seawall and went into water and sludge.
Amore became trapped inside the cab of the machinery and attempts to remove the man were unsuccessful, police said. A crane was used to remove the skid steer from the water and sludge and emergency crews were then able to free Amore from the vehicle.
Paramedics transported the man to Northwestern Medicine Hospital in McHenry where he was pronounced dead.
Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District Chief Tom Krueger announced the death in a department letter Thursday evening.
“This [is] devastating news to all of us. During this time, more than ever, we need everyone to support each other and Mark’s family. We are a family and we will honor Mark the way we always do with duty, honor and tradition,” Krueger said.
“There are no words to express what the Amore family and our fire family are going through right now. The sudden lose of a man with so much life and energy is beyond heartbreaking,” the fire protection district said on social media.
The Illinois Occupational Safety and Health Administration is assisting Fox Lake police in the investigation.