Kane County Sheriff’s Office recognizes three citizens for their heroic actions

KANE COUNTY—At the May 10 Kane County Board meeting, Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain praised three individuals for their quick thinking during two separate emergencies that occurred back in March.

According to Hain, on March 9, Jose Bosque Jr. and his son, Jose Bosque III, were in the Elgin area when they happened to cross paths with Kane County Deputy Matt Drab.

Drab was struggling to detain a driver that had taken off from a traffic stop and had also briefly grabbed Drab’s Taser.

The Bosques noticed Drab was attempting to gain control over the unruly driver and subsequently ran to Drab’s aid, where they were successful in restraining the suspect, which allowed Drab to handcuff him, preventing his escape and any injuries.

As for the third individual who was recognized at the Kane County Board meeting, Hain explained that on March 29, Michael Curtis, a ComEd line worker, was on his way home when he spotted an overturned Chevrolet pickup truck that was on fire in the 6N900 block of Dunham Road in unincorporated St. Charles Township.

The truck had reportedly left the roadway and struck a utility pole.

Kane County Sheriff’s Deputies Ryan Reichardt and Steven Turcios were dispatched to the scene at approximately 7:45 p.m., where with Curtis’ assistance, were able to rescue the driver from the vehicle before it was engulfed in flames.

Without hesitation, Curtis jumped in and helped the two deputies navigate the downed power lines as they worked to pull the driver from the burning truck.

The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle was later identified as 41-year-old Thomas Dabek of South Elgin.

Dabek was transported to Northwestern Delnor Hospital with serious injuries. He was eventually flown to Loyola University Medical Center for further treatment.

Hain stated that before being transported to Loyola, Dabek was charged with two counts of driving under the influence of alcohol and issued an I-bond.

The Bosques and Curtis were all presented with the Heroic Citizen Award at the May 10 meeting.

“We’ve been doing this a lot over the last six months — recognizing deputies and heroic citizens for their work — and I would like to say it’s an anomaly, but what we’ve seen is just an incredible effort not just by my staff, but by citizens to come together in the betterment of public safety for our community,” said Hain.

Sheriff’s Deputies Drab, Reichardt, and Turcios were also recognized and presented with inter-departmental awards for their actions.