Trucker killed by his own rig in Elk Grove Village

SHARE Trucker killed by his own rig in Elk Grove Village
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A 10-year-old girl in South Carolina died Wednesday, two days after being involved in a fight at her Colleton County elementary school. | Sun-Times file

A truck driver was accidentally pinned under his own semi and killed Sunday in northwest suburban Elk Grove Village.

Authorities were called at 8:45 a.m. for reports of an unresponsive person near a truck, according to the Cook County sheriff’s office.

Officer’s arrived to find 50-year-old Krasimir Kirilov Valkov on the ground between the rear tires of a semi trailer, partially pinned under one of the tires, according to the sheriff’s office and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The sheriff’s office said he had apparently been trying to repair his truck when it rolled onto him.

Valkov, who lived in Mount Prospect, was pronounced dead at 9 a.m., said the medical examiner’s office. An autopsy found he died of mechanical asphyxiation from being pinned under the trailer.

A source familiar with the investigation said he was a truck driver and the owner of American Quality Transportation, Inc., of Mount Prospect.

A representative for the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration said the agency does not have jurisdiction over the incident and will not be investigating.

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