It took firefighters over an hour to extricate a man who was heavily trapped in his sports car that rolled over, leaving him with life-threatening injuries in Prairie Grove Thursday evening.
The Nunda Rural Fire Protection District and Prairie Grove Police Department responded around 8 p.m. Thursday to Gracy Road and Route 31 in Prairie Grove for a call of a rollover crash with a person trapped.
Firefighters arrived eight minutes later and located a serious single-vehicle crash along Gracy Road between Route 31 and Barreville Road.
Nunda Rural Fire Protection District Communication Specialist Alex Vucha said the vehicle, which appeared to be an Audi R8, exited the roadway and collided with a tree.
The Audi rolled over onto its roof and left the male driver heavily entrapped.
The McHenry Township Fire Protection District sent two fire engines and the Cary Fire Protection District sent a heavy rescue squad to assist with the extrication process.
A medical helicopter was requested and landed at Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital.
The male driver was extricated from his vehicle around 9:23 p.m. — over an hour and 20 minutes after the initial call.
The man was transported by ambulance with serious, life-threatening injuries to Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital.
OSF Life Flight then flew the man to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.
Gracy Road between Route 31 and Barreville Road was closed for three hours during the incident.
“The assistance from our neighboring fire agencies at the scene was paramount to successfully extricate the patient. We greatly appreciated their additional resources,” Vucha said.
The cause of the crash is under investigation by the Prairie Grove Police Department.