Police say an elderly woman was seriously injured and flown to the hospital after her husband began pulling away while she was still exiting a car outside a restaurant in Woodstock.
The Woodstock Fire/Rescue District and Woodstock Police Department responded around 6:37 p.m. Friday to the 100 block of 1st Street in Woodstock for a report of a vehicle crash with injuries.
Woodstock Fire/Rescue District Public Information Officer Alex Vucha said the incident occurred in front of El Niagara restaurant, 120 1st Street.
Paramedics arrived and located an elderly woman lying in the roadway with serious injuries.
A Mercyhealth REACT medical helicopter was requested to respond due to the extent of her injuries, Vucha said.
The helicopter landed in an open grass field across from the restaurant.
The woman was transferred to the helicopter and airlifted to a trauma center in Rockford for further treatment. No other injuries were reported.
Woodstock Deputy Police Chief Ray Lanz said the incident occurred when the victim was in the process of exiting the vehicle.
The victim, a passenger in the car, was being dropped off by her husband at the restaurant along 1st Street.
The man thought his wife had fully exited the vehicle and began to pull away to park nearby, Lanz said.
The woman fell as the vehicle began pulling away and she struck her head on the pavement.
The husband has not been cited or charged. “There is no criminal intent or action, just a very unfortunate incident,” Lanz said.