Firefighters rescue man pinned under a tractor in water near Harvard

A man suffered critical injuries after a tractor rolled over him and into a body of water, trapping the man for about three hours before he was discovered Sunday afternoon near Harvard, officials report.

The Harvard Fire Protection District responded to a call at 2:47 p.m. Sunday to the area of Bunker Hill and Island roads near Harvard for a reported motor vehicle accident with entrapment. When responding, crews were further informed that “a tractor had overturned into a body of water, trapping an individual underneath,” Harvard Fire Protection District public information officer Alex Vucha said in a news release.

First responders arrived to find a man “pinned beneath the overturned tractor, with only his head visible above the water,” Vucha said in the release. Within 25 minutes of arrival, crews were able to free the man using chains and a “heavy-duty front loader” to lift the tractor.

The man suffered “critical injuries” when the tractor rolled over him, and it is believed he was trapped almost three hours before he was found by family members, Vucha said in the release.

“Due to the duration he remained under water and considering his age, UW Health Med Flight airlifted the patient directly from the scene to OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford for further treatment,” Vucha said in the release.

When firefighters first arrived, a caller guided them “nearly a mile onto a rural property” with no paved roadway, limiting access. Equipment had to be transported using pickup trucks and all-wheel-drive utility vehicles to reach the man, Vucha said in the release.

Additional help was requested from Marengo, Woodstock, Boone County District 3, Mercyhealth MD-1 and a medical helicopter. The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and NERCOM dispatchers also assisted with the rescue.