Man injured after car goes airborne, strikes pole in DeKalb County

A 40-year-old man was hospitalized after losing control of his vehicle, going airborne and crashing into a pole in Somonauk, about an hour and a half west of Chicago.

Jeffery Atwell was driving south on East Sandwich Road about 5 p.m. when he lost control on the gravel shoulder, according to the Dekalb County Sheriff’s Office.

Atwell vehicle entered a ditch and ramped up a culvert sending him airborne into a ComEd pole, snapping it. The vehicle landed upside down in a creek, the sheriff’s office said. Atwell was pulled from the vehicle by a citizen and a bystander performed CPR at the scene until first responders arrived.

Atwell was taken to Valley West Community Hospital in Sandwich, where he was then transferred via helicopter to Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, the sheriff’s office said.