National Guard Medic From Elgin Dies In Ambulance Crash

An Elgin man who served as a medic in the Illinois National Guard died when his military ambulance crashed near Rockford over the weekend. Marcos Leonardo Gudino was in the ambulance, which was part of a convoy of vehicles returning from weekend training at Fort McCoy Wisconsin, when the collision occurred on I-90 on March 25, according to a news release from the Illinois National Guard. Gudino, 30, served as a medic since enlisting in August 2010.

Gudino was a passenger in the ambulance when it crash on I-90 near West Lane Road, according to the Chicago Tribune. The driver of the ambulance is in stable condition but suffered serious injuries, according to the news release.

Guidino graduated from St. Edwards Central Catholic High School in 2006. During his time in the Illinois National Guard he earned the Army Service Ribbon and the National Defense Service Medal. Gudino also worked as a salesman at McGrath Honda of St. Charles, according to the Daily Herald.

He planned to soon join the Streamwood Police Department after he passed a physical test and received a job offer (pending a background check) in the mail on Friday, Gudino's father, Frank Gudino, told the Daily Herald.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Family members told the Daily Herald the collision occurred when the ambulance, which is a Humvee-type vehicle, was clipped off or cut off before crashing.

More via the Daily Herald and the Chicago Tribune

Photo via the Illinois National Guard