Libertyville man found crushed to death under trailer ramp in unincorporated Vernon Hills; victim ID'd
VERNON HILLS, Ill. (CBS) – A man was found crushed to death underneath a trailer ramp in unincorporated Vernon Hills Thursday morning.
Lake County Sheriff's deputies were dispatched around 6:30 a.m., to the 24800 block of North Milwaukee Avenue, for a report of a person down. Upon arrival, they found the victim, identified by the Coroner's Office as 53-year-old Wladyslaw Dziedzic
of unincorporated Libertyville, with "crush-type" injuries.
The victim was found underneath the ramp used to onload and offload heavy equipment, according to officials.
An investigation revealed the victim arrived at the property earlier in the day to remove a Komatsu Excavator from a trailer in order to take the trailer to a work site. After offloading the excavator, the man likely used the bucket on the excavator and chains to raise the trailer ramps weighing around 300 pounds each.
While walking to latch the ramps to the trailer, the chain likely slipped, causing the chain to free from the ramps and causing one of them to land on top of the victim, likely crushing his torso.
An autopsy conducted by the Lake County Coroner's Office revealed that Dziedzic died from blunt force injuries as a result.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was also notified.
The office said no foul play appears to be a factor. Sheriff's detectives are investigating.