
A benefit drive has been created for the family of a 16-year-old boy who had to be flown to the hospital after suffering serious burns to his body during a bonfire accident near Woodstock.
Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Chief Paul DeRaedt told Lake and McHenry County Scanner his department received a 911 call for a subject who had been burned around 7:50 p.m. Friday.
Emergency crews arrived at the scene in the 5100 block of Mt Thabor Road in unincorporated Woodstock within seven minutes.
DeRaedt said a teenage boy sustained first and second-degree burns to his torso, arms and face.
The teen reported he was by a bonfire on the property when a nearby gas can blew up, DeRaedt said.
The boy then jumped into a nearby pond to extinguish the flames. No one else was injured.
A medical helicopter was requested to meet the ambulance crew at Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital’s helipad due to the boy’s injuries.
The REACT helicopter, based in Rockford, flew the teen to the University of Chicago Medicine Burn and Complex Wound Center, DeRaedt said.
The Harvard Community Credit Union said Monday that they have volunteered to set up a fund for the Bauman family to help alleviate their expenses.
A flyer published by the credit union said that Austin Bauman’s condition has been stabilized but he has a “long road ahead for recovery.”
The flyer said Austin’s parents will be splitting their time between work, caring for their daughter at home and being with their son, which will involve “a lot of driving in and out of the city, as well as high daily parking fees.”
Donations can be made in person at the Harvard Community Credit Union at 1200 South Division Street in Harvard or by phone at 815-943-6500.