Kane Co. Officer Credited for Providing Comfort to Toll Worker Who Died in Crash

Photo Caption: Officer Samuel Aguirre

An Aurora Police Department officer who risked his life to provide comfort to an Illinois Tollway worker who later died in a fiery crash on I-88 last year has been chosen as this year’s Kane County Officer of the Year.

Aurora Police Department Officer Samuel Aguirre climbed onto the hood of a burning truck to be close to and provide comfort to tollway worker Vincent Petrella who was stuck inside following a crash on I-88 near Eola Road last January, according to a Kane County Sheriff’s Office press release.

As officers attempted to free Petrella, Aguirre removed the windshield glass and held Petrella’s hands despite heavy smoke and fire engulfing the area and despite the fact that Aurora Fire Department trucks on the scene had run out of water. He told Petrella “to hang on and that help was there,” according to the news release.

Aguirre remained with Petrella, a 39-year-old father of two, until he was removed from the vehicle.

“Sadly, the tollway maintenance worker passed away from his injuries,” Aurora Police Lt. Pete Inda wrote in his nomination of Aguirre for the award. “Officer Aguirre stayed with the driver to comfort him in his final moments. The man’s family was able to know that someone was with him, giving him comfort as he passed.”

The accident happened on Jan. 27, 2014 after Petrella and Illinois State Trooper Doug Balder pulled over on I-88 near Eola Road in Aurora to assist the driver of a disabled semi-trailer when another semi crashed into Balder’s vehicle, pushing it into Petrella’s truck. Balder was seriously injured in the crash.

The semi driver, Renato Velasquez, 48, was sentenced to three years in prison after a DuPage County judge found him guilty of one felony count of operating a commercial motor vehicle while in a fatigued state and two felony counts of failure to comply with hours of service requirements.

Aguirre was awarded the Louis Spuhler Award for outstanding police work during a recent banquet.