A driver had to be extricated from his car and flown to the hospital with serious injuries after his car drove off the road and rolled over into a creek in Huntley Monday morning.
The Huntley Fire Protection District and Huntley Police Department responded around 8:05 a.m. Monday to Kreutzer Road west of Haligus Road near the railroad tracks for a report of a water rescue.
Huntley Fire Protection District Public Information Officer Alex Vucha said firefighters arrived within three minutes and located a vehicle that had crashed through a guardrail.
The car went into an embankment along the creek bed where it rolled over onto its side.
It was determined that the vehicle was not submerged and the water rescue response was then canceled, Vucha said.
The driver, an adult male, was conscious but trapped inside the vehicle with serious injuries.
Crews stabilized the vehicle and paramedics entered to provide medical care while firefighters began extrication efforts.
Vucha said the prolonged process lasted approximately 40 minutes, with the victim being removed from the car at 8:45 a.m.
He was then transported to the Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital helipad where a Mercyhealth REACT medical helicopter had landed.
The victim was transferred to the helicopter crew and airlifted to Mercyhealth Javon Bea — Riverside in Rockford for further treatment, Vucha said.
Kreutzer Road was shut down in both directions between Smith Drive and Haligus Road for over an hour.
The Union Pacific Railroad was notified to halt train traffic due to the close proximity of the scene to the tracks.
“Crews did a professional job given the difficult access to the vehicle down in the ravine,” Huntley Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Eric Bentley said.
“The steep terrain and position of the car made stabilization and patient removal extremely challenging. Their teamwork and persistence ensured the patient received the care he needed as quickly as possible,” Bentley added.
The Huntley Police Department is investigating the circumstances and cause of the crash.