Lake and McHenry County Scanner |
- Coroner identifies 68-year-old man killed in fully engulfed house fire in Fox Lake
- Feds charge Gurnee doctor in scheme for prescribing painkillers to patients, billing Medicare for fake visits
- 1 person injured, dozens of birds escape after fire engulfs shed near Marengo
- ‘Please keep sending love’: 8-year-old boy paralyzed in Highland Park shooting now in ‘very critical’ condition
- Victim suffers potentially life-threatening injuries after motorcycle crash on Route 12 in Richmond
| Coroner identifies 68-year-old man killed in fully engulfed house fire in Fox Lake Posted: 15 Jul 2022 05:46 PM PDT    The coroner’s office has released the identity of a 68-year-old man who died inside his home in Fox Lake after it became engulfed in flames Thursday morning. The Spring Grove Fire Protection District responded around 2:46 a.m. Thursday to the area of Main Street and Wilmot Road in Spring Grove for a report of a structure fire. The fire district said crews found a fully engulfed house fire in the 900 block of Main Street. Because the house was located on the north side of the street, it turned out to be located in Fox Lake, not Spring Grove.  The Mutual Aid Box Alarm System was activated to the third alarm level due to a lack of hydrants in the area, the fire district said. The upgraded alarm level prompted the response of over two dozen fire departments, including some Wisconsin departments. Flames had engulfed the single-family residence and left much of it destroyed. After the fire was extinguished, fire crews discovered a person deceased inside the rubble, McHenry County Coroner Dr. Michael Rein told Lake and McHenry County Scanner. On Friday, Rein identified the victim as Jozef K. Wisniewski, 68, who resided at the residence. Fox Lake Police Chief Jimmy Lee said that Wisniewski was found near a sliding door and appeared to have been trying to exit the residence. No one else was inside the residence at the time of the fire.  The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal was called to the scene to assist the Fox Lake Fire Protection District and Fox Lake Police Department in the investigation. An autopsy has been scheduled on the victim for Monday. No further details were available regarding if the death was believed to be suspicious or not. Illinois fire departments that assisted at the scene were Richmond, McHenry, Wonder Lake, Grayslake, Woodstock, Lake Zurich, Gurnee, Antioch, Nunda-Rural, Fox River Grove, Cary, Lake Villa, Barrington-Countryside, Round Lake, Wauconda, Winthrop Harbor, Newport, Crystal Lake, Woodstock, and Lincolnshire-Riverwoods. Wisconsin fire departments that assisted at the scene were Twin Lakes, Randall, Salem Lakes, Bloomfield, Wheatland, Linn, Bristol and Lake Geneva. The incident remains under investigation by the McHenry County Coroner’s Office, Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal, Fox Lake Fire Protection District and Fox Lake Police Department. The post Coroner identifies 68-year-old man killed in fully engulfed house fire in Fox Lake appeared first on Lake and McHenry County Scanner. |
| Posted: 15 Jul 2022 04:02 PM PDT    Federal prosecutors say a Gurnee doctor has been charged for prescribing opioids to patients without a medical visit and then fraudulently billing Medicare for the non-existent treatment. Eliza Diaconescu, 73, of Lake Forest, is charged with one count of health care fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois. The charge was brought by the U.S. Attorney's Office's Opioid Task Force, which was formed in 2019 to combat the nation's opioid crisis. A criminal information filed Thursday in federal court alleges that Diaconescu pre-signed blank prescriptions for hydrocodone, oxycodone and fentanyl for patients of her pain clinic in Gurnee between 2016 and 2021. Diaconescu pre-signed the prescriptions so they could be provided to patients when she was not at the clinic, prosecutors said. The patients picked up the pre-signed prescriptions for the opioids from other workers at the clinic. The patients did not have a contemporaneous examination with Diaconescu, the complaint alleges. Diaconescu then knowingly submitted false claims seeking reimbursement from Medicare for the purported visits, knowing that such visits did not occur, the complaint said. The charging documents also said that Diaconescu and others at the clinic created false paperwork indicating that Diaconescu had face-to-face exams with patients. The charge is punishable by a maximum sentence of ten years in federal prison. An arraignment hearing is scheduled for Monday morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria Valdez. The post Feds charge Gurnee doctor in scheme for prescribing painkillers to patients, billing Medicare for fake visits appeared first on Lake and McHenry County Scanner. |
| 1 person injured, dozens of birds escape after fire engulfs shed near Marengo Posted: 15 Jul 2022 02:00 PM PDT    A resident was injured but dozens of birds are believed to be unharmed after a shed was destroyed by a fire Thursday near Marengo, officials said. The Marengo Fire and Rescue Districts responded around 3:08 p.m. Thursday to the 1900 block of Pringle Drive in unincorporated Marengo for a structure fire. Marengo Fire & Rescue Districts Communication Specialist Alex Vucha said crews arrived to find a 20-foot by 30-foot shed fully engulfed in flames.  Firefighters quickly pulled a hose line and extinguished the fire within 10 minutes. A male resident who tried to extinguish the fire prior to the department’s arrival sustained minor burns, Vucha said. He was transported by ambulance to Northwestern Medicine Hospital in Huntley with minor, non-life-threatening injuries. At least two dozen white doves lived in the shed.  Vucha said it is believed all the birds escaped and were unharmed in the fire. The cause of the fire remains under investigation but is not believed to be suspicious in nature. The shed and contents are a complete loss. The shed contained primarily lawn care equipment and tools. Firefighters from Woodstock, Marengo and Harvard also responded to the scene. The post 1 person injured, dozens of birds escape after fire engulfs shed near Marengo appeared first on Lake and McHenry County Scanner. |
| Posted: 15 Jul 2022 12:24 PM PDT    The 8-year-old boy who was shot and paralyzed in the Highland Park parade shooting is now in “very critical condition” after previously waking up yesterday. Cooper Roberts, 8, suffered a gunshot to the abdomen and his spinal cord was severed. He was airlifted to a hospital in Chicago where he remains. Cooper underwent a procedure on Monday which revealed a tear in his esophagus reopened. Doctors said one of Cooper’s lungs is also partially collapsed. He underwent his seventh surgery to repair the tear in his esophagus on Tuesday, which was successful, according to a family spokesperson. Cooper woke up on Thursday morning and initial signs were positive. He no longer had a fever and was breathing over the ventilator. The spokesperson said Cooper’s fever returned later Thursday and a CT scan showed fluid building in his esophagus, lungs and now pelvis.  Cooper, who is paralyzed from the waist down, remains on a ventilator and breathing tube due to his condition worsening. “Please keep sending love and prayers to my son as he continues to fight as hard as he can,” Cooper’s mother, Keely Roberts, said. Keely Roberts, who is the superintendent for Zion Elementary School District 6, was attending the Highland Park parade on July 4 with her two twin sons, Cooper and Luke. Keely and Cooper were both shot when a gunman opened fire during the parade, wounding dozens of people and killing seven. Over $1.5 million has been raised in a GoFundMe account for the Roberts family. Keely Roberts was seriously injured but will recover. Tony Loizzi, a friend and colleague of Keely Roberts, said Luke is recovering at home with his sisters.  Keely underwent several surgeries after she suffered gunshot wounds to her leg and foot area. She was later discharged from the hospital. "Quite frankly, she probably should not have been discharged but, she insisted on it so that she could be at her son's side, Cooper, who is at a hospital in the city with her husband," Loizzi said. Active and retired superintendents across the state have reached out to the Zion school district to help while the family recovers, Loizzi said. Loizzi said Keely "works hard day and night" for her school district. Police previously said that Robert E. Crimo III, 21, of Highwood, was responsible for the July 4 shooting. He was charged with seven counts of first-degree murder, Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart said. Many additional charges will be filed against Crimo, Rinehart said. Lake County Major Crime Task Force Spokesman Christopher Covelli said that Crimo pre-planned the attack for several weeks.  Crimo allegedly brought a high-powered rifle to the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park. Covelli said that Crimo used a fire escape ladder to access the roof of a building on the parade route. Crimo then allegedly opened fire on parade-goers, killing seven people and injuring over 45 people. Over 80 rounds were fired from the rifle. Crimo, who was dressed as a woman, exited the roof, dropped the rifle and escaped with the fleeing crowd, according to Covelli. Crimo walked to his mother's Highland Park home, which is nearby the parade route, and borrowed her silver 2010 Honda Fit, Covelli said.  A person spotted the wanted Honda Fit as it traveled southbound on Route 41 in North Chicago around 6:30 p.m. July 4 as an intense manhunt was underway. The person called 911 and a North Chicago police officer who was sitting at Route 41 and Buckley Road in North Chicago spotted Crimo drive past in the vehicle, Covelli and Highland Park Police Chief Lou Jogmen said. A short pursuit ensued and it came to an end at Route 41 and Westleigh Road in Lake Forest. Officers arrested Crimo and located a second rifle in his vehicle. The two rifles along with three other guns seized were legally purchased by Crimo himself. He remains held in the Lake County Jail after Lake County Judge Theodore Potkonjak ordered him held without bond. The post ‘Please keep sending love’: 8-year-old boy paralyzed in Highland Park shooting now in ‘very critical’ condition appeared first on Lake and McHenry County Scanner. |
| Victim suffers potentially life-threatening injuries after motorcycle crash on Route 12 in Richmond Posted: 15 Jul 2022 10:43 AM PDT    The driver of a motorcycle suffered potentially life-threatening injuries after a crash on Route 12 in Richmond on the Illinois and Wisconsin border earlier this week. The Richmond Township Fire Protection District responded around 10:11 a.m. Monday to Route 12 at the Illinois-Wisconsin state line for a report of a single-vehicle crash with injuries. Fire crews arrived to find a motorcycle down with one person lying in the roadway on Route 12 near the Mobil gas station, fire officials said. Members of the Newport Township Fire Protection District, based in Wadsworth, were already at the scene providing medical care to the victim. The Newport firefighters were traveling from a fire apparatus maintenance facility and came upon the crash. The patient suffered serious injuries and a medical helicopter along with Mercyhealth MD-1 was requested to the scene, fire officials said. All helicopters in the area were unavailable due to weather conditions. The patient was transported by ambulance to Northwestern Medicine Hospital in McHenry. Fire officials said the patient was later transferred by a private ambulance to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. The Richmond Police Department and Genoa City, Wisconsin Police Department provided traffic control and scene management by briefly shutting down Route 12 from Commercial Street to South Road. The cause of the crash was not immediately known. The incident remains under investigation. The post Victim suffers potentially life-threatening injuries after motorcycle crash on Route 12 in Richmond appeared first on Lake and McHenry County Scanner. |
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