Man Dies of Injuries After Being Struck While Helping Out-of-Control Driver: Cops

A 51-year-old Plainfield man died of injuries sustained in an Oct. 8 crash in Aurora, police said Saturday.

Dennis C. Hunke II, of the 12900 block of Hadfield Drive, died Friday night at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, according to Aurora police.

Hunke suffered massive head injuries after coming to the aid of 84-year-old Joyce Baudouin of Aurora. Police said Baudouin lost control of her 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan while backing out of a driveway at about 10:10 a.m. Wednesday in the first block of South Buell Avenue in Aurora.

According to a preliminary investigation, police said Baudouin first hit a 1998 Chevrolet Monte Carlo driven by a 20-year-old old Aurora man headed south on Buell. She then apparently hit the gas pedal instead of the brake while still in reverse , which sent her vehicle into two separate yards and back onto the roadway, police said.

After witnessing the crash, Hunke ran toward the woman’s vehicle while yelling for her to apply the brake, police said. When he reached the minivan, he put his foot inside the open driver’s side door in an apparent attempt to help Baudouin engage the brake, according to police.

Police said it appeared that Baudouin again hit the accelerator, causing Hunke to be hit by the inside of the door, which threw him backwards. Hunke hit the pavement headfirst, police said, and was rushed to Presence Mercy Medical Center by Aurora Fire Department paramedics for initial treatment and then airlifted to Good Samaritan Hospital.

Neither Baudouin nor the driver of the vehicle she initially hit were injured, police said. Both were the sole occupants of their respective vehicles.

Baudouin was ticketed for improper backing. The Aurora Police Traffic Division is conducting the continuing investigation.