A 59-year-old man has died in the hospital after he fell approximately 10 feet from a barn while working on a barn at a residential property near Huntley.
The Huntley Fire Protection District and McHenry County Sheriff’s Office responded around 7:55 a.m. on July 31 to the 15200 block of Harmony Road in unincorporated Huntley for a report of a fall.
Fire department reports said a person fell approximately one story and hit his head on the concrete.
Emergency crews arrived and requested a medical helicopter to respond due to the victim’s injuries.
A LifeNet helicopter launched from its base and was en route to a landing zone set up on the east side of Huntley High School, 13719 Harmony Road.
Wildfire smoke lingering in the area resulted in the helicopter crew aborting the call and returning to base, according to fire department call notes.
The ambulance transported the victim to Northwestern Medicine Hospital in Huntley.
He was later transferred to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, which is a Level 1 trauma center.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as Jose Vela, 59, of Huntley.
The fall was reported to be accidental and Vela fell from the rafters of an outdoor barn, the fire department report said.
The fall was approximately 8-10 feet and Vela struck his head on the concrete, leaving him critically injured. He was working on the property at the time.
Vela died in the hospital on Monday evening, the medical examiner’s office said.
His cause and manner of death have not yet been formally determined.