HR0592 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0592 LRB104 16807 MST 30216 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, On September 2, 2025, at approximately 7:27pm, a Dodge 2500 pickup truck was traveling east on Rio Township Road 2400 North at a high rate of speed; at the intersection of 2400 North and 050 East, the driver lost control, and his truck went into the ditch on the right side of the road; the driver tried to correct, but the truck went back onto the road and into the ditch on the left side of the road, turned over several times, and destroyed a row of pine trees, coming to rest on the passenger side; and

WHEREAS, A farmhouse sits at the intersection and is owned by resident Connie Flack, who was sitting on the front porch and witnessed the entire incident; she immediately called her neighbors, Ken and Rhonda McCracken, who live approximately a half mile up the road; they instantly got in their car and drove to the accident as Rhonda called 911; and

WHEREAS, Upon arriving, Ken McCracken found the driver, who was the only occupant of the truck, still hanging from his seat belt with the vehicle beginning to smoke; the driver finally got himself released but was unable to get out of the truck by kicking the windshield; Ken noticed a metal rod that had flown out of the back of the truck and began trying to break little holes in the windshield with the rod; he made a number of holes that formed a circle in the windshield, and the driver was able to kick the windshield and create a hole large enough that Ken could pull the driver out and drag him to safety; the driver was unable to walk; just as the two were a few hundred feed from the truck, the gas tank exploded, flames shot into the air, and the entire cab of the truck was engulfed in flames; Rhonda McCracken and Connie Flack got towels, and they assisted Ken with first aid to the victim who had suffered numerous cuts; and

WHEREAS, The first EMT's on the scene were Kevin Devlin and Sid Carlson, who found the patient lying on the ground being attended by Ken, Rhonda, and Connie; loud bangs began coming from the burning truck as the driver noted that he was carrying ammunition; a Knox County deputy arrived as well as Knox County Sheriff Jack Harlan and then Tri-County Ambulance and the Rio Fire Department; the driver was placed on a cot, loaded into the ambulance, and transported to OSF St. Mary Medical Center in Galesburg for treatment; and

WHEREAS, Had it not been for Ken McCracken, the driver would have perished in the fire; of note, Ken is 81 years old and has been the Rio Township Road Commissioner for 46 years; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we commend Ken McCracken for his heroic actions resulting in saving a man's life; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we commend Connie Flack, Rhonda McCracken, Kevin Devlin, Sid Carlson, and Knox County Sheriff Jack Harlan for their contributions to saving a man's life; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to Ken and Rhonda McCracken, Connie Flack, Kevin Devlin, Sid Carlson, and Knox County Sheriff Jack Harlan as an expression of our respect and esteem for their swift and decisive actions resulting in a man's life being saved.