CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- An Elburn woman who died after stopping to help someone on the side of the road in west suburban Elgin was credited with saving her husband’s life after she pushed him out of the way of an incoming truck.
The crash happened Monday night near McLean Road and Route 20, according to Elgin police. Katarzyna Kurek-Polk, 37, and her husband pulled over to check on a young woman, whose car had slid off the road and crashed into the guardrail.
The three were standing on the side of the road when Kurek-Polk noticed a truck barreling toward them. She pushed her husband out of the way moments before she was struck at 11:15 p.m. by a 43-year-old driver, the Kane County Coroner’s office said.
Kurek-Polk was taken to Saint Joseph Hospital in Elgin, where she was pronounced dead, the coroner’s office said. Preliminary autopsy results showed she died of blunt force trauma.
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The husband and the juvenile driver of the first car to crash suffered minor injuries and were treated and released from a hospital, police said.
The Elgin Police Department said the investigation is ongoing, but the preliminary investigation Monday night suggested weather conditions contributed to the crash.
On Monday, about 1.5 inches of snow fell on the Chicago area, according to the National Weather Service.
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Elburn Mayor Jeffrey Walter told the Daily Herald he hopes people recognize Kurek-Polk's sacrifice.
"It's always sad when someone from the community passes in a tragedy like this," he said. "I hope people remember her heroics and how she saved her husband's life."