A construction engineer was severely injured working in Elgin, Illinois on a bridge over the Fox River.
A component fell from a crane and injured Rudolf Das on Monday, December 1, 2014 underneath the Interstate 90 bridge at Duncan Avenue.
Das is a 51-year-old employee of K&S Engineers from Naperville, Illinois. According to his wife, Das suffered a broken back, knee, ribs and nose, along with an ankle injury and punctured lung, in the accident. He was pinned under a crane component weighing several thousand pounds.
Das spent nearly three weeks in the intensive care unit at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge and underwent multiple surgeries. His wife, Jona Das, told the Daily Herald that doctors are not optimistic that Das will walk freely again.
Tony Dahms, a heavy equipment operator and one of Das’ co-workers, started a fundraiser for the family. Dahms said he had never worked with a nicer man than Das, who he said possessed an exceptionally calm demeanor. “There’s no screaming or arm-waving like we’re used to,” Dahms told the Daily Herald. “He’s just not the kind of person you run across in construction.”
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the cause of the accident, according to Tollway officials. Jona Das has filed a personal injury lawsuit against K&S Engineers and several others, seeking multiple millions of dollars in damages on her husband’s behalf.