Man dies after being trapped under vehicle in Crete

A man was killed when an SUV fell on him while he was working on the vehicle Thursday afternoon in south suburban Crete.

Randall B. Wates, 59, was changing the brake pads on a Ford Expedition about 4 p.m. at his home in the 400 block of West Elms Court Lane in Crete, according to the Will County sheriff’s office. A family member who was working with him told investigators the jack stand tipped over and caused the vehicle to fall on Wates.

He was taken to St. James Hospital in Chicago Heights, where he was pronounced dead at 4:40 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. An autopsy Friday found he died from traumatic asphyxia and his death was ruled an accident.