17-year-old boy dies 10 days after falling from moving vehicle in Lyons

A 17-year-old west suburban boy died 10 days after he fell from a moving vehicle in west suburban Lyons.

Joseph A. Porretta was standing near a vehicle with his friend behind the wheel at 43rd Street and Center Avenue in Lyons on Jan. 22 when his friend began driving and Porretta tried to jump on the car, according to village spokesman Ray Hanania.

Porretta hit the moving car, rolled off and hit his head on the ground, Hanania said. He was taken with severe head trauma to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood.

Porretta, of the 7800 block of 43rd Street in Lyons, died at the hospital at 6:32 p.m. Wednesday, according to the medical examiner’s office.

An autopsy Friday found he died of complications from cranio-cerebral injuries after he fell from a moving vehicle, and his death was ruled an accident.

Hanania said the incident appears to be an accident. The driver who struck Porretta, also 17, was issued a citation but has not been charged criminally. Lyons police are still investigating.