Coroner IDs Man Electrocuted While Trying To Help Farmer In McHenry County

MCHENRY COUNTY, IL — A 42-year-old man who was electrocuted and killed while trying to help a farmer whose tractor hit a power line Monday has been identified.

Dante Rico Cruz was coming to the aid of a 56-year-old Hebron farmer at about 5:20 p.m. after the grain chute of the farmer's John Deere 9520RX tractor, which was pulling a Brent 2096 grain cart, made contact with the overhead power lines, causing the lines to come down, according to a news release from the McHenry County Sheriff's Office.

The live power lines landed on the tractor, police said. At the time, the tractor was attempting to offload grain into a semi truck parked on the County Line Road south of Jackson Road.

Cruz, who was driving the semi, tried to get onto the tractor to help the farmer and was electrocuted. He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

"Cruz appeared to have touched the combine that the wire was touching at the time," according to the coroner's office.

• 1 Dead, 1 Injured In Electrocution Incident In McHenry County

An autopsy is scheduled for Friday to determine the cause of death for Cruz. Meanwhile, the cause of the incident remains under investigation.