Truck driver electrocuted when grain chute rips down power lines in McHenry County, Illinois
By Adam Harrington
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MCHENRY COUNTY, Illinois (WBBM) — A semi-trailer truck driver was electrocuted in an incident on a farm in McHenry County, Illinois this week.
First responders were called at 5:17 p.m. Monday after farm equipment hit a power line in the ditch along County Line Road south of Jackson Road.
A 56-year-old man from Hebron, Illinois, was operating a John Deere 9520RX tractor pulling a Brent 2096 grain cart, which was positioned in the ditch area on the roadway offloading grain into a semi-trailer truck parked on the road.
During this process, the Avalanche grain chute on the grain cart made contact with the overhead power lines and ripped them down, according to the McHenry County Sheriff’s office.
The live power lines came in contact with the John Deere tractor. The 38-year-old Woodstock man who had been driving the truck tried to approach and board the tractor, at which point he was electrocuted and died, the sheriff’s office said.
The tractor operator was taken to OSF St. Anthony Medical Center in Rockford in fair condition, the sheriff’s office said.
ComEd was called to the scene to deal with the downed power lines and investigate.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Major Crash Investigation Unit and the McHenry County Coroner’s office were investigating Tuesday.
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