Saturday, July 10, 2010

Chaos in Crystal Lake at noon + 30

Chaos ruled at 12:30PM today in Crystal Lake at the intersection of U.S. 14 and Hwy. 176, when the funeral procession for the late Trent David Steckel headed from Davenport Family Funeral Home to MCC for a 1:00PM memorial service.

The procession was westbound on Hwy. 176 (a two-lane street, for those of you not in this area) and, when the first vehicle arrived at the light at U.S. 14, the procession stopped. It didn't just stop for a red light; it stopped. And it remained stopped.

Steckel, 24 and a member of the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District and the Lakewood Fire Department, was accorded full Department honors, even though he had died in an off-duty, single-vehicle, motorcycle accident early on July 2. Numerous fire engines from WFRD were there, as well as fire engines and ambulances from other jurisdictions.

The westbound procession was awash in a sea of red emergency lights on all the fire and police vehicles in the procession.

The procession stopped for several minutes at U.S. 14, rather than making its right turn and proceeding to MCC. I was in the gas station on the corner by McDonald's, purchasing gas, when the procession arrived. A police officer in the intersection stopped all traffic and waited minutes for the procession to resume. The procession had to go around a white minivan stopped westbound - why the driver was not directed out of the way, I guess no one will know.

I telephoned the Crystal Lake P.D. to ask the dispatcher to notify a sergeant that the entire intersection was being unnecessary blocked; she said she would have a sergeant call me. All non-procession traffic was required to remain stopped for approximately 15 minutes! An hour later, he still hasn't called.

It probably wasn't the right time to ask for tickets to be issued to the driver of every vehicle using its emergency lights, including the sheriff's deputy at the end of the procession. There is no provision in the Illinois Vehicle Code that allows such use. The fire trucks led the procession, rather than the funeral director's car and the hearse.

Traffic was backed up on east- and westbound U.S. 14 and on eastbound Ill. Route 176. Traffic was also unnecessarily delayed westbound on Route 176, when the procession stopped and remained stopped at U.S. 14.

The Crystal Lake Police Department owes the public an apology and a promise that no future procession will be allowed to halt at a busy intersection and remain stopped for minutes. An officer there to direct traffic should allow all traffic to proceed that does not cross the direction of the funeral procession. All fire chiefs need refresher courses regarding use of emergency lights and should direct drivers to use them only in accordance with State law.

And whether such a large number of fire trucks and ambulances, all on the taxpayer's dime, should be sent to the funeral of a fire department employee who died off-duty on his personal motorcycle is highly questionable.

I acknowledge that I'll be unpopular for even asking these questions. I mean no disrespect to Mr. Steckel or his family by doing so.

28 comments:

frankdojr said...

I find it funny you "just happened" to be in Crystal Lake filling your car with gas at the same time the procession is going on. How convienant for you Frank! I hope when you die, only your pet gerbal shows up to your funeral. You truly are a creep, and for this post on your blog, you WILL lose voters!

Support the police said...

You should be ashamed of yourself. You don't know anything that went on today and how much trent deserved all of it. All your worried about is traffic being delayed a few minutes. Not paying the respects that a fireman deserves at his funeral.

stunned said...

"I mean no respect to Mr. Steckel or his family by doing so."
You didn't show any.
Stalking funerals now...Get a job loser

Lora said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Gus said...

stunned, thanks for alerting me to the error in my sentence. I have corrected it.

Gus said...

You who are commenting are obviously missing the point.

A funeral director's car is normally at the beginning of the procession. He knows to keep moving.

The explanation from Chief Linder and the funeral director will be interesting.

Support the police said...

Call Chief Webster from the WFRD. I'm sure he would be glad to explain why he did things the way he did. He organized everything.

Unknown said...

You are just mad because no one would show up to your funeral.

Gus said...

Hans, didn't you know? It was last week.

Another Lawyer said...

Although a funeral using "emergency lighting" and stopping traffic is contrary to the law, don't we need to stop traffic every once in awhile in this society?

While your strict adherence to the law is noble, it is also misguided.

Gus said...

Earlier this morning I thought about the risk to public safety by yesterday's traffic snarl. What if an ambulance had been headed to Centegra Hospital-Woodstock?

mike said...

The the vehicles on Route 14 would pull over to the side of the road as they are required to do now. Isn't that what they do? Did I miss something? Did you say that the funeral procession was proceeding 5 or 6 vehicles abreast of one another? It's nice to see that even though I go on vacation for several weeks, when I return you're still being goofy.

Gus said...

Mike, no, I didn't write that the procession was 5-6 vehicles abreast. Where did you get that idea?

The procession stopped at U.S. 14 and remained stopped for approximately five minutes. During that time the police officer in the intersection required all other traffic to remain stopped.

During that time, eastbound traffic on U.S. 14 would have backed up to M.C.C.

mike said...

I know you didn't. My point being that unless they were proceeding 5-6 vehicles abreast, they could have, should have and would have pulled to the side to make way for the ambulance, just as is done day in and day out. Funeral procession or not.

yagottabekidding said...

You can bet that if you get elected sheriff (HAH!) there will be no such procession for you.

Gus said...

OK, Mike, help me out here.

Let's say that an ambulance, running hot toward Centegra Hospital-Woodstock, comes up behind a 200-vehicle funeral. Cars in the oncoming lane are stopped bumper-to-bumper for 1.5 miles.

How long will it take him to get around? The patient will be dead first.

The oncoming cars were already stopped and backed up in the traffic lane, thanks to the officer in the intersection who wouldn't let ANY vehicles move.

Gus said...

OK, tired. Here's the deal.

Vote for me on Nov. 2, and there won't be any procession.

stunned said...

So lets keep Rte 14 free of traffic for all times.
You are a creeper...

Gus said...

No. Let's keep Route 14 moving appropriately.

Besides, I'm not a creeper. I drive at the speed limit!

Anonymous said...

Gus, this is a very tough issue.
Obviously, you want to keep the traffic moving in as safe a manner as is humanly possible.
A funeral, especially that of a young man who was beginning a life of service to others is a very emotional event. I did not know Trent but it seems he was an exceptional human being.
Perhaps this issue could be addressed not now but with IDOT or some other body at another time.
I know that you hold firemen, police, corrections personnel and of course, our military heroes in very high regard but it is easy to lose sight of that in this very touchy issue.
Time to let this one rest and pray for Trent, his family and his loving friends.

FatParalegal said...

I would think that the fire/police vehicles in the procession would be aware if another emergency vehicle were approaching the intersection (or the route of a moving procession) because of the dispatcher / radio traffic. (no pun intended)

I have seen very long funeral processions (non-emergency vehicles only) stop at intersections and hold up traffic to wait for the entire procession to catch up and regroup before proceeding across a tricky intersection (e.g. railroad tracks, busy traffic, etc.).

I don't believe public or traffic safety was compromised in the situation.

Notawannabee said...

You've stooped to a new low. I'm sure your blog is posted on every firehouse wall.

Now where does that GUS moron live? Does anyone have a mapbook? I haven't seen it. Maybe we can google the address, OH the internet is down....well we'll wait until its back up. Cardiac arrest? Now where is my CPR card? I better have it becauce he'll ask to see it. I think its in my glove box,,let me go check....Won't tkae be more than 20 minutes to find it. Anyone know where the keys to the ambulance is?

Toa said...

Nota...? While I agree that Gus may have stooped to a new low - most folks here seem to agree - realize that he's in (or perhaps he never left) self-destruct mode. He has as much chance of being elected sheriff as you or I have of being sworn in as POTUS next Thursday. It will not and never would happen. His ranting and the goofy battles he chooses to fight show him for what he is. A troublemaker NOT a problem solver. He was the kid who always ran and tattled to the teacher when we were in school. He was the brown-nose who sucked up at work trying to curry favor with the bosses. That he's managed to live to 72 years or whatever without learning how to live with people is the only mystery.

As for your suggestion that the firemen will take action such as you envision is also over the top. Cops and firemen are not wired that way. They're the ones to run into a situation when others want to run away. That's just the way they are. They may gripe and grouse after the fact when they realized that the life they saved was some waste of oxygen but I firmly believe that they would do everything for Gus or you or I that they'd do for one of their own when called. That's not to say, of course, that he'd deserve it

yagottabekidding said...

You seem to think you are disliked because of your supposed whistle blowing and 'Serpico' delusions of searching out the truth (or your version anyway). You are a legend in your own mind and turn-off most people by just being a jerk.

Gus said...

Richard, thank you for your sage advice. I accept it, just as you offered it.

Notawannabee said...

TOA...you exactly right about the police and fire responding regardless of the idiocy of the person to whom they are responding to help. I'm sure you knew the message was meant as a stab at sarcastic humor, however...... our local TROLL Gussy, seems to always pick his battles against people that have never let him down in a pinch. Seems this same Fire Department carted his sorry butt off to the hospital when he had a grabber but what did he do? He bitched about the helicopter ride costing too much.

Gus said...

As is too often the case, Notawannabee mis-states the facts.

Notawannabee said...

Gus,

I've never known YOU to let FACTS get in the way of a juicy blog spot!

Notawannabee