Overview

• Responders were dispatched at 9:16 p.m. to the 1300 block of Beach Street in unincorporated Crystal Lake.
• A firework mortar struck a man in the face and exploded, inflicting serious, unspecified injuries.
• Heavy crowds on the narrow one-way street delayed Nunda Rural Fire Protection District crews from reaching the victim.
• McHenry County paramedics requested a medical helicopter but transported the man by ambulance when inclement weather grounded the flight.
• The patient remains under care at Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital and the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office is investigating potential regulatory breaches.