Crime & Safety

Worker Helicoptered to Trauma Center After Arm Caught in Machinery

Crews have to dismantle the device to free the arm of the man, who is flown by helicopter to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove.

An emergency call for a man with his arm caught in a machine drew a dramatic response in which St. Charles firefighters labored  alongside factory workers to dismantle the device and free the man Tuesday morning.


St. Charles Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Christensen said a helicopter was called in to transport the victim to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Downers Grove.


Christensen said authorities were called at 9:03 a.m. to Microplastics Inc., 406 S. 38th Ave., for a report of man whose arm was trapped in machinery. He said St. Charles emergency crews arrived on the scene within three minutes and began working with Microplastics personnel to dismantle the device and free the victim’s arm.

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“That’s what we typically do in a situation like this,” Christensen explained. “We can’t just reverse the machine without causing more damage … so we try to take it apart” to remove the victim without injuring him further.


Christensen said a helicopter was called in and landed in the field immediately north of Microplastics, where the patient was loaded aboard. The helicopter departed the scene about 9:41 a.m.

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Microplastics Inc., 406 S. 38th Ave., is an insert molding manufacturer that, according to its website, produces electromechanical interconnections and components that are used in the medical, automotive, electrical and other industries.


The Fortune 500 company’s St. Charles facility is 50,000 square feet lying on seven acres of land.

Geneva/Batavia Patch Editor Rick Nagel contributed to this report.


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